THE  -LIFE 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON: 


BY 

EDWAED   EVERETT. 


SAN    FRANCISCO: 
A.  ROMAN,    BOOKSELLER    AND    PUBLISHER. 

NEW   YORK :    SHELDON    AND    COMPANY. 

1860. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

SHELDON  AND  COMPANY, 

the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


RIVERSIDE,   CAMBRIDGE  : 

STEREOTYPED    AND    PRINTED    BY 

H.    0.   HOUdHTON   AND   COMPANY. 


,  PEEFACE. 


THE  enterprising  proprietors  of  the  "En 
cyclopaedia  Britannica"  requested  the  late 
Lord  MACAULAY  to  prepare  the  article  on 
"Washington/'  for  the  new  Edition  of  that 
Work  now  in  course  of  publication.  His 
other  engagements  prevented  his  comply 
ing  with  their  request,  and  thinking  also 
that  it  would,  on  some  accounts,  be  de 
sirable  that  the  memoir  of  Washington 
should  be  written  by  a  countryman,  he 
advised  the  Messrs.  BLACK  to  apply  to  me. 
This  they  did  in  the  month  of  March, 
1859,  expressing  the  wish  that  the  article 
should  be  furnished  to  them  in  Edin 
burgh,  in  the  month  of  October  last. 
Though  much  occupied  with  previous 


IV  PREFACE. 

engagements,  and  otherwise  not  favor 
ably  situated  for  cheerful  mental  effort, 
I  thought  it  my  duty  to  comply  with 
the  request  of  the  Messrs.  BLACK,  re 
gretting,  however,  that  the  time  allowed 
me  —  besides  constant  interruptions  - 
was  too  short  to  admit  of  careful  re 
search  among  the  original  materials  for 
a  life  of  Washington. 

In  fact,  I  feel  that  some  apology  is 
due  to  the  public,  for  attempting  to  com 
press  into  the  narrow  compass  of  a  vol 
ume  like  this  a  career  like  that  of 
Washington,  which  has  been  so  fully 
treated  in  the  great  national  works  of 
MARSHALL,  SPARKS,  and  IRVING.  It  will, 
however,  I  think,  be  generally  felt  to 
have  been  desirable,  that  a  comprehen 
sive  memoir  of  our  illustrious  Country 
man  should  be  prepared  by  an  American 
writer,  for  a  work  like  the  "Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,"  and  a  republication  in  this 


PREFACE.  V 

country  follows  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  purpose  for  which  the  memoir  was 
written  will,  I  trust,  "sufficiently  account 
for  the  necessary  condensation  of  the 
narrative ;  for  the  omission  of  many  facts 
of_importance,  and  for  the  superficial 
statement  of  others ;  as  also  for  the  oc 
casional  mention  of  what  is  familiar  to 
every  American,  but  which  may  need 
explanation  to  the  European  reader. 

The  historical  materials  of  the  follow 
ing  pages  have  been  mainly  derived 
from  the  standard  works  already  allud 
ed  to,  in  which  is  contained  every 
thing  of  importance  authentically  known 
of  the  life  and  career  of  Washington. 
Diligent  search  among  official  papers 
andjrivate  letters  will  no  doubt  throw 
further  light  on  matters  of  detail,  espe 
cially  as  far  as  his  domestic  life  is  con 
cerned;  but  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  anything  will  be  added  to  our 


VI  PREFACE 

knowledge  of  important  events.  To  Mr. 
SPARKS  I  am  under  especial  obligations. 
No  one  can  have*  occasion  to  write  or 
to  speak  on  the  life  of  Washington, 
however  compendiously,  without  finding 
constant  occasion  to  repeat  the  acknowl 
edgment  of  Mr.  IRVING,  who  justly  places 
him  "among  the  greatest  benefactors  of 
our  national  literature." 

I  regret  that  the  valuable  work  of 
Mr.  BENSON  J.  LOSSING,  entitled  "Mount 
Vernon  and  its  Associations,"  was  not 
published  till  the  following  memoir  was 
nearly  completed,  and  it  was  conse 
quently  not  in  my  power  to  make  as 
much  use  as  I  could  have  wished  of 
the  stores  of  information  contained  in 
it.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the 
"Recollections  and  Memoirs  of  Wash 
ington,"  by  the  late  Mr.  G.  W.  PARKE 
CUSTIS,  of  which  the  excellent  edition 
by  Mr.  LOSSING  appeared  too  late  to 


PREFACE.  vii 

render  me  the  assistance  I  might  other 
wise  have  derived  from  it. 

In  what  I  have  said  of  the  important 
topic  of  President  WASHINGTON'S  "Farewell 
Address/'  I  have  followed  the  footsteps,  at 
however  great  a  distance,  of  Hon.  HORACE 
BINNEY,  in  his  late  exhaustive  treatise  on 
that  subject ;  wrhich  seems  to  me  to  put 
to  rest  the  hitherto  existing  uncertainty 
as  to  the  preparation  of  that  most  im 
portant  State-paper. 

Although  the  plan  of  the  following 
pages  did  not  admit  of  great  detail  as 
to  the  private  life  of  Washington,  I  could 
not  forbear  to  narrate  at  length  the  inci 
dents  of  the  closing  scene,  as  minutely 
described  by  an  eye-witness.  The  nature 
of  the  disease  of  which  Washington  died, 
and  its  professional  treatment  by  the  atr 
tending  physicians,  having  been  sometimes 
drawn  in  question,  it  is  with  much  satis 
faction  that  I  am  able  to  lay  before  the 


viii  PREFACE. 

reader,  in  the  Appendix,  a  paper  on  that 
subject,  written  at  my  request,  by  my 
honored  friend,  Dr.  JAMES  JACKSON,  the 
venerable  head  of  his  profession  in  this 
city. 

I  have  also,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
JOHN  A.  WASHINGTON,  procured  from  the 
archives  of  the  Court  in  Fairfax  County 
a  copy  of  the  official  inventory  of  General 
WASHINGTON'S  personal  estate.  A  copy  of 
Mrs.  WASHINGTON'S  Will  has  also  been  kindly 
furnished  me  from  the  same  quarter.  These 
documents  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 
They  have  never,  I  believe,  been  published. 

I  cannot  close  this  preface  without  al 
luding  to  the  melancholy  tidings  which 
have  reached  this  country,  within  a  few 
days,  of  the  premature  decease  of  the 
most  brilliant  writer  of  the  age,  perhaps 
of  any  age  of  English  literature,  —  at 
whose  suggestion  the  preparation  of  the 


PREFACE.  ix 

following  memoir  was  proposed  to  me  by 
the  publishers  of  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Bri- 
tannica."  Great  as  are  the  losses  sus 
tained  by  science  and  letters  in  Europe 
and  America  during  the  year  1859,  the 
death  of  Lord  MACAULAY  is,  in  some  re 
spects,  the  greatest.  Of  the  other  illus 
trious  persons  who  have  been  taken  from 
us  in  the  course  of  the  year,  some,  as 
HUMBOLDT,  HALLAM,  and  IRVING,  had  at 
tained  advanced  years,  and  nobly  com 
pleted  the  work  given  them  to  do.  PRES- 
COTT,  though  leaving  his  last  great  work 
half  written,  leaves  with  it  three  com 
pleted  histories,  either  of  which  would  suf 
fice  for  a  reputation.  MACAULAY,  at  a  time 
of  life  which,  in  the  course  of  nature, 
admitted  many  years  of  added  labor,  has 
been  called  away  in  the  midst  of  the 
triumphant  prosecution  of  his  great  enter 
prise.  While  the  volumes  already  given 
to  the  world  will  go  down  to  the  latest 


PREFACE. 


posterity    as    one    of    the    most    valuable 
contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  Eng 
lish    language,   how   keenly  must  we    not 
regret,  that  they  form  at  best  but  a  moi 
ety  of  the  work,  which  might  have  been 
confidently    expected    from    his    wondrous 
pen!     With    what    sorrow    must    we    not 
reflect,  that  the  talent  which  could  clothe 
with  the  interest  of  romance  a  period  of 
English    history    not    usually    regarded    as 
the  most  inviting ;  that  stores  of  informa 
tion,  collected  by  a  memory  of  truly  mi 
raculous    grasp,    often    from    sources    the 
most    obscure    and    distant,    and    arranged 
with  matchless   skill,  should  be  lost  to  us 
forever,  and    this   at   the   time  when  they 
were   most   successfully  employed   for   the 
admiration    of  the    reading  world !     Abso 
lutely  identifying  himself  with  the  scenes 
he    described,    and    mingling    with    fervor, 
though    under    the    guidance   of  laborious 
research,  in  the   great   contentions   of  the 


PREFACE.  XI 

times,  it  was  scarcely  possible  that  lie 
should  fall  into  no  errors  of  judgment, 
and  never  form  a  mistaken  estimate  of 
character.  One  such  has  been  keenly  felt 
in  this  country.  But  his  work  owes  some 
of  its  highest  qualities  to  that  earnest 
ness  of  conviction  and  warmth  of  feeling, 
which  may,  in  the  manner  alluded  to, 
have  occasionally  warped  his  judgment. 

But  admirable  as  he  was  as  a  writer, 
Lord  MACAULAY  was  still  more  admirable 
as  a  man.  His  principles  were  liberal, 
his  emotions  generous,  his  manners  affa 
ble,  his  life  exemplary,  his  morals  pure. 
The  splendor  of  his  page  was,  if  possible, 
excelled  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  conver 
sation.  His  personal  intercourse  was  a 
perpetual  feast  of  rational  pleasure.  The 
world  admired  the  magnificence  of  his 
rhetoric,  and  contemplated  with  equal 
delight  and  wonder  the  profusion  with 
which  he  poured  forth  the  stores  of  his 


Xll  PREFACE. 

memory,  gathered  from  the  literature  of 
every  language  and  every  country.  Those 
who  knew  him  loved  him  for  his  amiable 
personal  qualities;  for  the  unaffected 
meekness  with  which  he  bore  his  tran 
scendent  honors ;  for  the  sunny  cheerful 
ness  of  his  disposition,  and  the  generous 
warmth  of  his  heart.  I  cannot  but  reflect 
with  melancholy  satisfaction  on  the  many 
happy  hours  passed  in  his  society  during 
four  years  of  intimate  acquaintance,  and 
on  the  proofs  of  friendly  regard  with 
which  he  honored  me  to  the  very  last 
days  of  his  life. 

EDWARD   EVERETT. 
BOSTON,  25th  January,  1860. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth — Parentage  —  Genealogy  —  Emigration  of  the  Fam 
ily  to  America  —  Education  of  George  Washington  — 
Proposal  to  place  him  in  the  Navy  of  Great  Britain  — 
Influence  of  his  Mother  in  the  Formation  of  his  Char 
acter.  19 


CHAPTER  II. 

Washington  commences  Life  as  a  Surveyor  of  Lord 
Fairfax's  Estates  — His  Duties  in  that  Capacity  —  First 
Military  Appointment  —  Accompanies  his  Brother  to 
Barbadoes  —  Takes  the  Small-Pox  in  the  natural  Way 
in  that  Island  —  Approach  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  — 
New  Commission  as  Adjutant-General  of  the  Northern 
Division. 38 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Commencement  of  Settlements  in  the  West  — The   Ohio 
Company  — Hostile  Movements  of  the  French  — Wash- 
2 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

ington's  Perilous  Expedition  to  Venango  —  Disastrous 
Campaign  of  1754  —  Braddock's  Expedition  and  Defeat 
in  1755  —  Arduous  and  Responsible  Duties  of  Wash 
ington  during  the  War  —  Expedition  against  Fort  Du- 
quesne  —  And  its  Capture. 53 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Retirement  from  the  Army  —  Marriage  —  Election  to  the 
House  of  Burgesses  and  Character  as  a  Member  —  His 
Occupations  as  a  Planter,  and  business  Habits  —  Visits 
the  unsettled  Parts  of  the  State — Commencement  of 
the  Controversy  with  the  Mother-Country  —  Mistaken 
Impression  that  Washington  was  ever  lukewarm  in  the 
American  Cause  —  Proofs  of  the  Contrary  —  His  early 
Career  admirably  calculated  to  fit  him  for  the  great 
Work  of  his  Life. 83 


CHAPTER  V. 

Commencement  of  the  War  —  Lexington  and  Concord  — 
The  Royal  Army  blockaded  in  Boston  —  Washington 
chosen  Commander-in-Chief  by  the  Continental  Con 
gress —  Destitute  Condition  of  the  Army  —  Dorchester 
Heights  fortified  in  the  Spring  of  1776  —  Boston  evac 
uated  by  the  Royal  Forces  —  The  War  transferred  to 
New  York — Disastrous  Battle  of  Long  Island  —  Wash 
ington  retreats  through  New  Jersey  to  Philadelphia  — 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Recrosses  the  Delaware  and  surprises  the  Hessians  at 
Trenton  —  Gains  the  Battle  of  Princeton  and  retrieves 
the  Fortune  of  the  Campaign. 104 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Campaign  of  1777 — Sir  William  Howe  sails  from  Staten 
Island  and  ascends  the  Chesapeake  —  The  Battle  of 
Brandy  wine  adverse  to  the  Americans — Sir  W.  Howe 
occupies  Philadelphia  —  Battle  of  Germantown  —  Ca 
pitulation  of  Burgoyne  —  Washington  in  Winter-Quar 
ters  at  Valley  Forge  —  The  Gates  and  Conway  Cabal  ^ 
—  Forged  Letters  —  Campaign  of  1778  —  The  French 
Alliance  —  Sir  W.  Howe  evacuates  Philadelphia  —  Bat 
tle  of  Monmouth  —  Lee  sentenced  by  a  Court-Martial,  - 
and  leaves  the  Army  —  The  Count  d'Estaing  with  a 
French  Fleet  arrives  in  the  American  Waters — Cam 
paign  of  1779 — No  general  Operation  of  the  Main 
Body  —  Campaign  of  1780  — Arrival  of  the  First  Divis 
ion  of  the  French  Army  under  Rochambeau —  Trea 
son  of  Arnold  —  Fate  of  Andre  —  Campaign  of  1781  — 
Arrival  of  Count  de  Grasse  with  Reinforcements — Ca 
pitulation  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  —  Negotiations  for 
Peace  —  Provisional  Articles  signed  November,  1782  — 
Discontents  in  the  American  Army  —  The  Newburg 
Address  —  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace  —  Washington  re 
signs  his  Commission  to  the  Congress  at  Annapolis,  23d 
December,  1783. 130 


xvi  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Washington  retires  to  Mount  Vernon  —  Visits  the  Coun 
try  west  of  the  Alleghanics — Recommends  opening  a 
Communication  between  the  Head  Waters  of  the  At 
lantic  Rivers  and  the  Ohio  —  Agricultural  Pursuits  — 
His  Views  of  Slavery  —  Critical  State  of  the  Country 

—  Steps    that    led    to    the    Formation    of    the    present 
Government  —  The   Federal  Convention   and  Washing 
ton  its  President  —  The    Constitution   framed  —  Adopted 
by   the    States  —  Washington    elected    the    First  Presi 
dent  of   the    United    States,    and  inaugurated   30th   of 
April,   1789. 154 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Washington's  Administration  continued  through  two  Terms 
of  Office  —  Peculiar  Difficulties  at  Home  and  Abroad 

—  Tendency   toward   the   Formation    of    Parties  —  The 
Cabinet    divided  —  Growth    of    Party-Spirit  —  Washing 
ton    unanimously    reflected —  Retirement    of    Jefferson 
and  Hamilton  from  the  Cabinet — War  between  France 
and  England  —  Neutrality  of  the  United    States— Vio 
lated  by  both  the   Belligerents  —  Offensive   Proceedings 
of  Genet,  the  French  Minister  —  Mission  of  Jay  to  Eng 
land  —  His   Treaty  unpopular  —  Attempt  in  the  House 
of    Representatives    to   withhold    the   Appropriations   to 
carry   it   into   Effect  —  Washington    refuses    to   commu- 


CONTENTS. 


nicate    the    Instructions    under    which    it    was    ne^oti- 

D 

ated.  ..........................................  175 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Insurrection  in  Pennsylvania  suppressed  —  Washington's 
Interest  in  Lafayette  —  His  Son  received  at  Mount 
Vernon  —  Close  of  the  Second  Term  of  Office  and 
Farewell  Address  —  Denunciation  of  the  spurious  Let 
ters  —  Retirement  from  the  Presidency  —  Return  to 
Mount  Vernon  —  Rupture  between  the  United  States 
and  France  —  Washington  appointed  Lieutenant-Gen 
eral  —  Anticipations  of  the  Conflict  —  Downfall  of  the 
Directory,  and  Accommodation  with  France.  .....  205 

CHAPTER  X. 

Sudden    Attack    of   Illness    in    December,    1799  —  Rapid 
Progress  and  Fatal  Termination  of  the  Disease  —  Pub 
lic  Mourning  —  Emancipation   of  his   Slaves  by  Will  — 
Mount   Vernon  —  Personal   Appearance    and    Habits  — 
Religious    Opinions  —  General   Views    of  his    Character 
—  Testimony   of  Lord   Erskine,   of   Mr.    Fox,  of  Lord 
Brougham,    of    Fontanes,    and    Guizot  —  His    Military 
Character  —  Natural    Temperament  —  Genius    for    the 
Conduct  of  Affairs  —  Final  Estimate.  ............  236 

2* 


Xviii  CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX. 

No.  I. 

On  the  last  Illness  of  General  Washington  and  its  Pro 
fessional  Treatment  by  the  Attending  Physicians,  by 
James  Jackson,  M.  D.,  of  Boston. 273 

No.  II. 

Inventory  of  the  Personal  Property  at  Mount  Vernon  at 
the  Time  of  General  Washington's  Death,  returned  to 
the  Court  of  Fairfax  County,  Virginia,  by  the  Sworn 
Appraisers  of  the  Estate. 286 

No.  III. 
The  Will  of  Martha  Washington  of  Mount  Vernon.  -318 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth— Parentage  — Genealogy  —  Emigration  of  the  Fam 
ily  to  America  —  Education  of  George  Washington  — 
Proposal  to  place  him  in  the  Navy  of  Great  Britain  — 
Influence  of  his  Mother  in  the  Formation  of  his  Charac 
ter. 

IN  the  family  record  contained  in  a 
Bible  which  belonged  to  the  mother  of 
Washington,  and  which  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  George  Washington  Bassett, 
of  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  who  married 
a  grandniece  of  Washington,  the  follow 
ing  entry  is  found  :  — 

"  George  Washington,  son  to  Augustine 
and  Mary  his  wife,  was  born  ye  llth  day 
of  February  173^  about  ten  in  the  morn- 


20  THE   LIFE   OF 

ing,  and  was  baptized  the  3d  of  April 
following ;  Mr.  Beverly  Whiting  and  Cap 
tain  Christopher  Brooks,  godfathers,  and 
Mrs.  Mildred  Gregory  godmother." 
\  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  was  accordingly 
born  on  the  22d  of  February,  1732,  New 
Style,  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  in 
the  parish  of  Washington,  (so  called 
from  the  family,  whose  seat  it  had  .been 
for  three  generations,)  on  Pope's  Creek, 
a  small  tributary  to  the  Potomac,  and  at 
the  distance  of  about  half  a  mile  from  its 
junction  with  that  river.  The  house  in 
which  he  was  born  was  destroyed  before 
the  American  Revolution,  but  a  stone 
with  a  suitable  inscription  was  placed 
upon  the  spot  a  few  years  since,  by 
the  late  George  Washington  Parke  Cus- 
tis,  the  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington. 
This  spot  has  lately  been  ceded  to  the 
State  of  Virginia. 

The    County   of  Westmoreland,   famous 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  21 

as  the  birthplace  not  only  of  Washing 
ton  but  of  several  other  eminent  per 
sons,  —  such  as  Richard  Henry  Lee,  who 
moved  the  resolution  for  declaring  Inde 
pendence  in  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia 
in  1776;  his  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Fran 
cis,  and  Arthur,  and  his  kinsman,  General 
Henry  Lee,  all  distinguished  in  their  day ; 
James  Monroe,  the  fifth  President  of  the 
United  States;  and  Bushrod  Washington, 
a  nephew  of  the  General  and  a  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  — rjies  between 
the  Potomac  and  Rappahannoc  rivers,  in 
what  is  called  the  northern  neck  of  Vir 
ginia.  Notwithstanding  the  notoriety  of 
the  facts,  a  statement  is  sometimes  made 
in  British  publications,  and  has  been  re 
peated  by  a  respectable  writer  within  the 
past  year,  (1858,)  that  George  Washing 
ton  was  born  in  England.* 

*  The  Editor  of  the  Cornwallis  Papers.     The  error  was 
corrected  in  an  erratum. 


22  THE  LIFE    OF 

Augustine  Washington,  the  father  of 
the  General,  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Jane  Butler,  by  whom  he  had 
three  sons  and  a  daughter,  namely,  Butler, 
who  died  in  infancy,  Lawrence,  Augustine, 
and  Jane,  the  last-named  of  whom  also 
died  in  childhood.  .  His  second  wife  was 
Mary  Ball,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the 
6th  of  March,  1730.  By  this  marriage  he 
had  six  children,  namely,  GEORGE,  Betty, 
Samuel,  John  Augustine,  Charles,  and  Mil 
dred,  the  last  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

George  Washington  was  the  great-grand 
son  of  John  Washington,  who,  with  a 
brother  named  Lawrence,  emigrated  to 
Virginia  in  1657.  They  were  the  grand 
sons  of  Lawrence  Washington,  sometime 
Mayor  of  Northampton,  and  the  first  lay 
proprietor  of  the  manor  of  Sulgrave,  in 
Northamptonshire,  which  was  granted  to 
him  in  1538.  The  oldest  brother,  Sir  Wil 
liam  Washington,  married  a  half-sister  of 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  23 

George  Villiers,  the  famous  Duke  of 
Buckingham.  This  connection  indicates, 
if  it  did  not  cause,  a  leaning  of  the  fam 
ily  toward  the  Royal  side  in  the  civil 
wars.  Another  of  the  name.  Sir  Henry 
Washington,  a  relative  though  not  a 
brother,  signalized  himself  for  his  perse 
vering  gallantry  in  sustaining  the  siege 
of  Worcester  against  the  Republican  forces. 
Of  the  two  brothers  who  came  to  Vir 
ginia,  Lawrence  had  been  a  student  at 
Oxford ;  John  had  resided  on  an  estate 
at  South  Cave  in  Yorkshire,  which  gave 
rise  to  an  erroneous  tradition  among  his 
descendants,  that  their  ancestor  came  from 
the  North  of  England. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  politics  of 
the  family  determined  the  two  brothers 
John  and  Lawrence  to  emigrate  to  Vir 
ginia,  that  colony  being  the  favorite  resort 
of  the  Cavaliers,  during  the  government 
of  Cromwell,  as  New  England  was  the  re- 


24  THE   LIFE   OF 

treat  of  the  Puritans,  in  the  period  which 
preceded  the  Commonwealth.  John  Wash 
ington  and  his  brother  took  up  lands  and 
became  successful  planters  in  Virginia, 
The  former,  soon  after  his  arrival,  rose  to 
the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  Indian  wars, 
and  gave  his  name  to  the  parish  in  which 
he  lived.  He  married  Ann  Pope,  by  whom 
he  had  two  sons,  Lawrence  and  John,  and 
a  daughter.  Lawrence,  the  oldest  son, 
married  Mildred  Warner,  of  the  neighbor 
ing  county  of  Gloucester,  and  had  three 
children,  John,  Augustine,  and  Mildred. 
The  second  son,  Augustine,  wTas  the  father 
of  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

At  the  time  of  the  emigration  from 
England,  the  family,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  established  at  Sulgrave,  in  Northamp 
tonshire.  The  name  of  Washington  may 
still  be  seen  on  the  gravestones  in  the 
church  of  that  and  other  parishes  in  the 
county.  The  original  grantee  of  Sulgrave 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  25 

was  probably  born  at  Warton,  in  Lanca 
shire,  where  his  father  is  known  to  have 
lived.  In  the  next  generation  after  the 
emigration  to  America,  another  of  the 
family,  perhaps  a  brother,  passed  to  the 
Continent  and  established  himself  in  Ba 
varia,  where  the  descendants,  bearing  the 
family  name  and  somewhat  resembling 
General  George  Washington  in  personal 
appearance,  are  still  found. 

It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  somewhat 
striking  fact,  and  one  I  believe  not  hither 
to  adverted  to,  that  the  families  of  Wash 
ington  and  Franklin,  —  the  former  the 
great  leader  of  the  American  Kevolution, 
the  latter  not  second  to  any  of  his  patri 
otic  associates,  —  were  established  for  sev 
eral  generations  in  the  same  central  coun 
ty  of  Northamptonshire,  and  within  thirty 
miles  of  each  other ;  the  Washingtons,  at 
the  maftor  of  Sulgrave,  belonging  to  the 
landed  gentry  of  the  county  and  in  the 


26  THE  LIFE  OF 

great  civil  war  supporting  the  royal  side  ; 
the  Franklins,  at  the  village  of  Ecton,  liv 
ing  on  the  produce  of  a  farm  of  thir 
ty  acres  and  the  earnings  of  their  trade 
as  blacksmiths,  and  espousing,  —  some  of 
them  at  least,  and  the  father  and  uncle  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  among  the  number,  — 
the  principles  of  the  non-conformists.  Their 
respective  emigrations,  germs  of  great 
events  in  History,  took  place,  —  that  of 
John  Washington,  the  great-grandfather 
of  George,  in  1657,  to  loyal  Virginia  ;- 
that  of  Josiah  Franklin,  the  father  of 
Benjamin,  about  the  year  1685,  to  the 
metropolis  of  Puritan  New  England. 

The  genealogy  of  George  Washington 
is  a  matter  of  greater  importance  to  the 
memory  of  his  ancestors  than  to  his  own  ; 
he  throws  back  far  greater  glory  than  he 
can  inherit.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  a 
matter  of  curiosity  to  note,  that  the  fam 
ily  and  name  are  traced  by  genealogists 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  27 

to  the  thirteenth  century,  and  to  the 
county  of  Durham.  Among  those  who 
held  manorial  estates  in  that  region,  in 
the  period  succeeding  the  Norman  Con 
quest,  was  Walter  de  Hepburn,  who,  ac 
cording  to  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
adopted  from  his  estate,  "probably  the 
same  now  called  Hartburn,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tees,"  the  name  of  Wessyngton, 
which  afterwards  passed  into  that  of 
Washington.  From  this  person  thus  des 
ignated,  the  family  of  Washington,  in  its 
various  branches,  and  now  widely  spread 
in  England,  on  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
and  in  the  United  States,  is  descended. 
For  further  details  on  this  subject,  —  for 
which  the  limits  of  this  work  afford  no 
room,  —  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  ap 
pendix  to  the  first  volume  of  Mr.  Sparks's 
admirable  edition  of  the  "Writings  of 
Washington,"  and  to  the  first  volume  of 
his  Life,  by  the  late  honored  and  lamented 


28  THE  LIFE  OF 

Nestor  of  American  literature.  |  General 
Washington's  own  feelings  on  the  gene 
alogy  of  his  family  are  intimated  in  his 
answer  to  a  letter  from  Sir  Isaac  Heard, 
Garter  King  at  Arms,  in  1792.  Sir  Isaac 
having  addressed  a  letter  to  Washington, 
at  that  time  President  of  the  United 
States,  making  inquiry  about  his  gene 
alogy,  the  President,  in  his  reply,  says :  i 
"This  is  a  subject  to  which  I  confess  I 
have  paid  very  little  attention.  My  time 
has  been  so  much  occupied  in  the  busy 
and  active  scenes  of  life  from  an  early 
period  of  it,  that  but  a  small  portion  of 
it  could  have  been  devoted  to  researches 
of  this  nature,  even  if  my  inclination 
or  particular  circumstances  should  have 
prompted  to  the  inquiry." 
^  Shortly  after  the  birth  of  George  Wash 
ington,  his  father  removed  his  family 
from  the  county  of  Westmoreland  to  that 
of  Stafford,  and  established  himself  on  an 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  29 

estate  upon  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rap- 
pahannoc  River,  opposite  Fredericksburg, 
where  he  died  in  1743,  leaving  a  valua 
ble  landed  property  to  his  widow  and 
five  children.  To  his  oldest  son,  Law 
rence,  he  gave  an  estate  near  Hunting 
Creek,  on  the  Potomac  River,  afterwards 
called  Mount  Yernon ;  to  George,  the 
oldest  son  of  the  second  marriage,  the 
estate  opposite  Fredericksburg ;  and  to 
each  of  the  other  sons  a  plantation  of 
six  or  seven  hundred  acres; — the  income 
of  the  whole  being  left  within  the  con 
trol  of  the  mother,  till  the  sons  respec 
tively  should  come  of  age. 

The  mother  was  a  woman  of  superior 
intelligence  and  energy,  and  ruled  her 
family  and  household  with  a  firm  hand. 
The  means  of  education  at  that  time, 
compared  with  the  ^present  day,  were 
scanty  in  all  the  Anglo-American  colonies, 
but  especially  at  the  South,  where  a 

3* 


30  THE  LIFE   OF 

larger  portion  of  the  inhabitants  lived  on 
their  landed  estates,  and  the  population 
was  less  compact.  The  sons  of  affluent 
planters  were  sometimes  sent  "  home/'  as 
it  was  called,  and  placed  at  the  English 
schools  and  universities,  and  afterwards 
at  the  inns  of  court;  but  for  others,  who 
for  any  cause  were  unable  to  avail  them 
selves  of  these  advantages,  the  instruction 
to  be  had  at  the  local  schools  in  the 
Southern  colonies  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  ordinary  branches  of  an  English  edu 
cation.  George  Washington  was  taught 
reading,  writing,  book-keeping,  and  at  a 
later  period  surveying ;  an  important  oc 
cupation  at  that  time,  being  liberally  com 
pensated,  and  affording  facilities  for  find 
ing  out  and  entering  valuable  ungranted 
lands  in  the  almost  boundless  wilderness, 
which  lay  west  of  tbe  settled  parts  of  the 
country.  Some  of  the  manuscript  books 
kept  by  him  at  school  are  still  preserved. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  31 

They  are  marked  by  neatness,  method, 
skill  in  the  use  of  figures,  in  the  con 
struction  of  tables,  and  in  the  delineation 
of  plans ;  —  in  a  word,  by  the  display 
of  the  favorite  tastes  which  he  carried 
through  life,  and  manifested  in  the  busi 
ness  details  of  military  and  civil  affairs 
of  importance. 

According  to  still  existing  traditions, 
he  evinced  in  his  boyhood  the  military 
taste,  which  seems  to  have  been  heredi 
tary  in  his  family.  The  self-elected  but 
willingly  obeyed  leader  of  his  comrades, 
he  formed  them  into  companies  for  their 
juvenile  battles.  His  early  repute  for 
veracity  and  justice,  with  his  athletic 
prowess  beyond  his  years,  made  him  the 
chosen  umpire  of  their  disputes.  He 
wrestled,  leaped,  ran,  threw  the  bar,  and 
rode  with  the  foremost.  A  spot  is  still 
pointed  out,  where,  in  his  boyhood,  he 
threw  a  stone  across  the  Rappahannoc ; 


32  THE  LIFE   OF 

he  was  proverbially  strong  of  arm ;  in 
manhood  he  had  one  of  the  largest  hands 
ever  seen;*  and  he  was  through  life  a 
bold  and  graceful  horseman. 

Among  his  manuscripts  still  in  exist 
ence,  there  is  one,  written  under  thirteen 
years  of  age,  which  deserves  to  be  men 
tioned  as  containing  striking  indications 
of  early  maturity.  The  piece  referred  to 
is  entitled  "Rules  of  Civility  and  Decent 
Behavior  in  Company  and  Conversation." 
These  rules  are  written  out  in  the  form 
of  maxims,  to  the  number  of  one  hun 
dred  and  ten.  "They  form,"  says  Mr. 
Sparks,  who  gives  a  considerable  speci 
men  of  them,  "a  minute  code  of  regula 
tions  for  building  up  the  habits  of  morals 
and  manners  and  good  conduct  in  very 

*  The  late  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,  who  was  Secre 
tary  of  State  under  Washington  and  the  elder  President 
Adams,  said,  in  my  hearing,  that  General  Washington 
was  the  only  man  whom  he  ever  knew,  that  had  a  larger 
hand  than  himself. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  33 

young  persons."  Whether  they  were  taken 
in  a  body  from  some  manual  of  educa 
tion,  or  compiled  by  Washington  himself 
from  various  books,  or  framed  from  his 
own  youthful  observation  and  reflection, 
is  unknown.  The  first  is,  perhaps,  the 
more  probable  supposition.  If  compiled 
by  a  lad  under  thirteen,  and  still  more 
if  the  fruit  of  his  own  meditations,  they 
would  constitute  a  most  extraordinary  ex 
ample  of  early  prudence  and  thoughtful- 
ness.  Some  of  the  rules,  which  form  a 
part  of  this  youthful  code  of  manners  and 
morals,  had  their  influence  over  Washing 
ton  and  gave  a  complexion  to  his  habits, 
through  life. 

Washington's  early  education  did  not 
extend  beyond  his  own  language,  nor 
was  that  taught  grammatically  either  in 
England  or  this  country  a  hundred  years 
ago.  The  grammatical  rules  of  the  Eng 
lish  tongue  were  first  learned  from  the 


34  THE  LIFE   OF 

study  of  the  Latin  language.  Washington 
gave  some  attention  to  the  French  in 
after-life,  when  the  armies  of  Count  de 
Rochambeau  were  placed  under  his  com 
mand;  but  he  never  attempted  to  speak 
or  write  it.  By  long  practice,  attentive 
reading  of  good  authors,  and  scrupulous 
care  in  the  preparation  of  his  letters  and 
other  compositions,  he  acquired  a  correct 
and  perspicuous  English  style. 

While  he  was  still  at  school,  a  project 
was  formed  by  some  of  his  relatives  and 
friends,  which,  if  it  had  taken  effect, 
would  have  changed  the  entire  course  of 
his  life.  His  oldest  brother,  Lawrence, 
had  been  an  officer  in  the  war  lately 
waged  to  avenge  the  loss  of  "  Captain 
Jenkins's  ears;"  he  had  served  as  a  cap 
tain  on  the  Spanish  Main,  and  formed 
friendly  relations  with  General  Wentworth 
and  Admiral  Vernon.  'Observing  the  mili 
tary  turn  of  his  brother  George,  he  nai>- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  35 

urally  thought  he  should  promote  his 
advancement  in  life  by  placing  him  in 
the  British  service.  A  midshipman's  war 
rant  was  obtained  for  him,  no  doubt 
through  Admiral  Vernon's  interest ;  but 
the  prophetic  heart  of  the  mother  re 
belled  at  the  last  moment,  and  the  proj 
ect  was  abandoned,  although  his  luggage, 
it  is  said,  had  been  sent  on  board  a  ship 
of  war  lying  in  the  Potomac. 

Washington  is  unquestionably  to  be 
added  to  the  list  of  eminent  men  whose 
characters  have  been  moulded  by  a  moth 
er's  influence.  The  control  of  their  chil 
dren's  property,  devolved  upon  her  by 
the  will  of  her  husband,  shows  his  confi 
dence  in  her  discretion  and  energy;  and 
tradition  represents  her  as  a  woman  of 
vigorous  character  fully  equal  to  the  trust. 
The  modest  dwelling  in  Fredericksburg, 
in  which  she  brought  up  her  family,  is 
etill  standing,  and  in  its  unpretending 


36  THE   LIFE   OF 

style  and  dimensions,  forms  a  striking 
contrast  with  the  ambitious,  half-finished 
monument  over  her  grave.  She  educated 
her  children  in  habits  of  frugality,  dili 
gence,  and  virtue.  Books,  at  that  time, 
were  few;  —  the  luxuries,  not  the  daily 
food  of  the  mind,  even  among  persons  of 
fortune  and  leisure.  With  those  in  nar 
rower  circumstances,  the  range  of  reading 
did  not  extend  much  beyond  the  Bible, 
manuals  of  devotion,  the  sermons  of  some 
standard  divine,  and  books  of  practical 
piety.  Among  the  few  books  belonging 
to  the  elder  generation,  and  still  pre 
served  at  Mount  Yernon,  is  a  well-worn 
copy  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale's  "Contempla 
tions,"  a  volume  which  had  belonged  to 
George  Washington's  father,  and  in  which 
the  names  of  his  two  wives,  Jane  and 
Mary,  are  written,  each  in  her  own  hand 
writing,  on  the  blank  page.  It  would  not 
be  difficult  to  point  out  in  the  character 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  37 

of  Washington  some  practical  exemplifica 
tion  of  the  maxims  of  the  Christian  life, 
as  laid  down  by  that  illustrious  magis 
trate. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  although 
he  had  not  himself  received  a  college 
education,  Washington  entertained  decided 
opinions  of  its  utility.  He  appropriated 
the  shares  in  the  Potomac  and  James 
River  Canal,  presented  to  him  by  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  for  the  endow 
ment  of  collegiate  institutions,  and  recom 
mended,  in  his  last  annual  message  to 
Congress,  the  foundation  of  a  national 
university  at  the  seat  of  the  general 
government. 


38  THE  LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER  II. 

Washington  commences  Life  as  a  Surveyor  of  Lord 
Fairfax's  Estates  — His  Duties  in  that  Capacity  —  First 
Military  Appointment  —  Accompanies  his  Brother  to 
Barbadocs  —  Takes  the  Small-Pox  in  the  natural  Way 
in  that  Island  —  Approach  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  — 
New  Commission  as  Adjutant-General  of  the  Northern 
Division. 

WE  have  now  reached  the  period  in 
the  life  of  Washington,  when  he  may  be 
considered  as  passing  from  boyhood  to 
youth,  and  when  the  serious,  though  un 
conscious,  training  for  his  great  public  ca 
reer  began.  His  older  brother  Lawrence, 
who  stood  to  him  in  many  respects  in 
the  place  of  a  parent,  had  removed  to 
the  estate  near  Hunting  Creek  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  MOUNT  YERNON,  in 
honor  of  his  friend  the  "  gallant  Vernon," 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  39 

the  commander  of  the  naval  expedition 
against  the  Spanish  Main,  commemorated 
in  "Thomson's  Seasons."  George  had  ever 
been  a  favorite  with  his  brother  Lawrence, 
and  on '  leaving  school  went  to  reside  at 
Mount  Vernon.  His  time  was  passed,  in 
the  pleasant  season  of  the  year,  in  the 
usual  round  of  plantation  employment, 
visiting,  and  sports;  and  in  the  winter 
was  devoted  to  his  favorite  study  of  sur 
veying.  By  way  of  practice,  accurate 
plans  were  taken  by  him  of  Hunting 
Creek  and  the  neighboring  estates,  some 
of  which  are  still  preserved  among  his 
papers. 

His  brother  Lawrence  had  lately  mar 
ried  the  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Fairfax, 
the  proprietor  of  the  neighboring  prop 
erty  of  Belvoir  and  the  near  relative  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  who  was  at  that  time  his 
guest  at  that  plantation.  Lord  Fairfax 
was  the  owner  of  immense  domains  in 


40  THE   LIFE   OF 

Virginia.  He  had  inherited  through  his 
mother,  the  daughter  of  Lord  Culpepper 
the  original  grantee,  a  vast  tract  of  land, 
originally  including  the  entire  territory 
between  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannoc 
rivers.  The  grant  was  probably  intended 
to  be  bounded  on  the  w^est  by  the  Blue 
Ridge.  But  the  geography  of  the  interior 
of  the  American  continent  was  but  little 
known ;  grants  were  made  in  the  early 
charters  of  all  the  lands  lying  between 
certain  rivers,  (supposed  in  all  cases  to 
run  due  east  and  west  from  the  moun 
tains  to  the  sea,)  or  between  certain  par 
allels  of  latitude  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
The  land-agents  of  Lord  Fairfax  were 
not  slow  in  making  the  discovery,  that 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Potomac  pene 
trated  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  that  conse 
quently  his  Lordship's  possessions  might 
be  construed  to  extend  far  into  the  val 
ley  of  the  Shenandoah.  By  way  of  con- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  41 

firming  his  claim  to  these  extensive 
territories,  he  left  the  residence  of  his 
kinsman  at  Belvoir,  built  a  substantial 
stone-house  in  the  valley  called  Green- 
way  Court,  and  there  established  himself 
in  a  kind  of  baronial  state  in  the  wilder 
ness. 

Lord  Fairfax  was  a  man  of  cultivated 
mind,  educated  at  Oxford,  the  associate 
of  the  wits  of  London,  the  author  of  one 
or  two  papers  in  the  "Spectator,"*  and  an 
habitue  of  the  polite  circles  of  the  metrop 
olis.  A  disappointment  in  love  is  said  to 
have  cast  a  shadow  over  his  after-life, 
and  to  have  led  him  to  pass  his  time  in 
voluntary  exile  on  his  Virginia  estates, 
watching  and  promoting  the  rapid  devel- 

*  In  Chalmers's  Biographical  Dictionary  we  read :  "  The 
biographer  of  Lord  Fairfax  informs  us  he  was  one  of  the 
writers  of  the  Spectator,  but  the  annotators  on  that  work 
have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  any  of  his  papers."  He 
may  have  been  the  author  of  some  of  the  anonymous 
communications  sent  to  the  "Letter-box,"  to  which  Steele 
often  had  recourse  in  making  up  a  number. 
4* 


42  THE  LIFE   OF 

opment  of  the  resources  of  the  country, 
following  the  hounds  through  the  prime 
val  wilderness,  and  cheering  his  solitary 
hours  by  reading  and  a  limited  society 
of  chosen  friends.  George  Washington 
had  early  attracted  his  notice  as  a  fre 
quent  visitor  at  Belvoir. 

About  the  time  that  George  came  to 
reside  at  Mount  Yernon,  George  William 
Fairfax,  the  son  of  the  proprietor  of  Bel 
voir,  had  married  the  daughter  of  Colonel 
Carey,  of  Hampton,  on  James  Eiver,  and 
had  brought  home  his  bride  and  her  sis 
ter  to  his  father's  house.  Washington's 
boyish  manuscripts  betray  the  secret  of 
a  youthful  but  not  successful  passion  for 
a  person,  whom  he  does  not  name,  but 
whom  he  describes  in  prose  and  verse  as 
a  "lowland  beauty,"  and  whom  tradition 
represents  as  Miss  Grimes,  who  afterwards 
married  a  Colonel  Lee  and  became  the 
mother  of  General  Harry  Lee  of  the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  43 

Revolutionary  war,  at  all  times  a  favorite 
of  Washington,  perhaps  on  the  mother's 
account.  The  confidential  letters  of  Wash 
ington  to  his  young  friends  represent  him 
as  finding  solace  at  Belvoir,  in  the  society 
of  the  bride's  sister,  for  the  still  lingering 
regrets  of  his  boyish  "lowland"  disap 
pointment. 

But  his  residence  at  Mount  Vernon 
and  his  visits  at  Belvoir  were  productive 
of  much  more  important  results,  and 
formed  a  very  important  link  in  the 
chain  of  events,  winch  decided  his  for 
tunes  for  life.  The  vast  possessions  of 
Lord  Fairfax  were  as  yet  unsurveyed, 
and  "  squatters "  (as  settlers  without  title 
are  called  in  the  United  States)  were 
beginning  to  seat  themselves  on  the  best 
of  his  lands.  There  was  at  this  period 
no  general  system  of  public  surveys  exe 
cuted  by  authority,  and  the  individual 
proprietor,  after  obtaining  his  grant,  was 


44  THE   LIFE   OF 

obliged  to  procure  the  survey  of  his  lands, 
by  licensed  surveyors,  on  his  own  respon 
sibility.  Lord  Fairfax  had  formed  so  fa 
vorable  an  opinion  of  young  Washington, 
that  he  determined  to  employ  him  on 
the  important  service  of  surveying  his 
extensive  estates;  and  he  set  off  on  his 
first  expedition  just  a  month  from  the 
time  he  had  completed  his  sixteenth 
year,  accompanied  by  young  Fairfax,  the 
son  of  the  proprietor  of  Belvoir. 

The  best  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  ser 
vice  in  which  he  was  now  engaged,  will 
be  formed  from  an  extract  from  one  of 
his  own  letters  :  — "  Your  letter,"  says  he 
to  his  correspondent,  "gave  me  the  more 
pleasure,  as  I  received  it  among  bar 
barians  and  an  uncouth  set  of  people. 
Since  you  received  my  letter  of  October 
last,  I  have  not  slept  above  three  or  four 
nights  in  a  bed ;  but  after  walking  a 
good  deal  all  the  day,  I  have  lain  down 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  45 

before   the  fire   upon  a  little  hay,  straw, 
fodder,  or   a  bear-skin,  —  whichsoever  was 
to    be    had,  — with    man,    wife,    and    chil 
dren,  like    dogs    and    cats;   and  happy  is 
he  who   gets  the  berth   nearest  the  fire. 
Nothing  would  make  it  pass  off  tolerably 
but   a   good    reward.     A   doubloon  is   my 
constant  gain  every  day  that  the  weather 
will  permit  my  going  out,  and  sometimes 
six  pistoles.     The  coldness  of  the  weather 
will  not  allow  of  my  making  a  long  stay, 
as  the  lodging  is  rather  too   cold  for  the 
time    of    year.     I    have    never    had    my 
clothes    off,   but   have    lain    and    slept   in 
them,  except  the  few  nights  I  have  been 
in  Fredericksburg." 

The  hardships  of  this  occupation  will 
not  be  fully  comprehended  by  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  surveyor's  duties, 
only  as  they  are  practised  in  old  and 
thickly  settled  countries.  In  addition  to 
the  want  of  accommodation,  and  the  other 


46  THE  LIFE   OF 

privations  alluded  to  in  the  letter  just 
cited,  the  service  was  attended  with  seri 
ous  peril.  In  new  countries  of  which 
"  squatters "  have  begun  to  take  posses 
sion,  the  surveyor  is  at  all  times  a  highly 
unwelcome  visitant,  and  sometimes  goes 
about  his  duty  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
Besides  this,  a  portion  of  the  country 
traversed  by  Washington  formed  a  part 
of  that  debatable  land,  the  disputed  right 
to  which  was  the  original  moving  cause 
of  the  Seven  Years'  war.  The  French 
were  already  in  motion,  both  from  Canada 
and  Louisiana,  to  preoccupy  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio,  and  the  savages  in  their  inter 
est  roamed  the  intervening  country  up 
to  the  settlements  of  Virginia. 

Washington  was  employed  in  the  sur 
vey  of  Lord  Fairfax's  lands  for  three 
years,  passing  the  pleasant  season  in  the 
wilderness,  and  spending  his  winters  at 
Fredericksburg  and  Mount  Vernon.  The 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  47 

out-door,  active  life  fortified  his  health 
and  strengthened  his  frame.  His  surveys 
were  executed  in  part  in  the  very  region 
which  became  the  theatre  of  his  cam 
paigns  in  the  Seven  Years'  war.  While 
engaged  in  the  field  he  saw  something 
of  life  and  manners  among  the  friendly 
Indians.  He  probably  availed  himself  of 
opportunities  to  inspect  valuable  tracts  of 
ungranted  land,  which  afterwards  turned 
to  good  account.  At  a  time  when  the 
minds  of  men  were  but  little  awakened 
to  the  future  of  the  then  unsettled  West, 
he  learned  from  actual  observation  to 
appreciate  its  vast  importance.  He  soon 
became  distinguished  for  the  accuracy  of 
his  surveys,  and  obtained  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  public  surveyor,  which  ena 
bled  him  to  enter  his  plans  as  legally 
valid,  in  the  county  offices.  The  imper 
fect  manner  in  which  land-surveys  at 
that  time  were  generally  executed,  led  in 


48  THE  LIFE   OF 

the  sequel  to  constant  litigation;  but  an 
experienced  practitioner  in  the  Western 
courts  pronounced,  in  after-years,  that  of 
all  the  surveys  which  had  come  within 
his  knowledge,  those  of  Washington  could 
alone  be  depended  upon.* 

His  experience  in  border  life  prepared 
him  for  his  military  education,  which  was 
now  about  to  commence.  No  military 
schools  existed  at  that  time  even  in  the 
mother-country;  as  late  as  the  last  gene 
ration,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  sent 
to  a  military  school  at  Angers,  in  France, 
for  want  of  institutions  of  that  kind  at 
home.  The  restlessness  of  the  French 
and  Indians,  on  the  frontier,  to  which 
allusion  has  just  been  made,  had  as  early 
as  1751  begun  to  create  uneasiness  in 
several  of  the  Anglo-American  colonies. 
The  Assembly  of  Virginia  divided  that 
province  into  several  military  commands 

*  Everett's   Orations,  vol.  iii.  p.  440. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  49 

or  districts,  and  in  one  of  them  Washing 
ton,  now  nineteen  years  of  age,  received 
the  appointment  of  adjutant-general,  with 
the  rank  of  major.  His  duty  was  to  as 
semble  and  exercise  the  militia,  inspect 
their  arms,  and  train  them  for  actual  ser 
vice  in  the  event  of  a  rupture.  In  con 
nection  with  these  duties,  he  gave  his 
time  and  thoughts  to  his  own  preparation 
for  the  field.  He  read  military  treatises, 
acquainted  himself  with  the  manual  exer 
cise,  and  through  the  instructions  of  his 
brother  and  other  officers  of  the  late  war 
whom  he  met  at  Mount  Vernon,  became 
expert  in  the  use  of  the  sword. 

In  these  occupations  he  was  interrupt 
ed  by  a  painful  domestic  occurrence.  His 
brother  Lawrence,  naturally  of  a  feeble 
constitution,  had  suffered  in  his  health 
from  the  effects  of  the  campaign  on  the 
Spanish  Main.  He  became  consumptive 
and  was  ordered  to  the  West  Indies. 

5 


50  THE  LIFE   OF 

George  was  selected  to  accompany  him. 
They  sailed  for  Barbadoes  in  September, 
1751,  and  arrived  after  a  five  weeks' 
voyage.  Experiencing  no  permanent  re 
lief  in  that  island,  the  invalid  determined 
to  remove  to  Bermuda  in  the  spring,  and 
George  was  sent  back  to  Virginia,  to  con 
duct  the  wife  of  Lawrence  to  the  last- 
named  island.  He  arrived  in  February, 
after  a  most  tempestuous  voyage ;  but 
the  rapidly  declining  health  of  his  brother 
caused  the  other  portion  of  the  arrange 
ment  just  mentioned  to  be  abandoned. 
While  in  Barbadoes  in  the  autumn  of 
1751,  George  took  the  small-pox  in  the 
natural  way.  He  had  it  severely,  but 
owing  to  the  mildness  of  the  climate, 
the  strength  of  his  constitution,  and  good 
medical  aid,  he  recovered  in  three  weeks. 
He  was,  however,  slightly  marked  through 
life.  His  journals  kept  at  Barbadoes  evince 
the  spirit  of  accurate  observation  which 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  51 

was  so  prominent  a  feature  of  his  charac 
ter.  The  very  first  campaign  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  war  gave  proof,  that  his  hav 
ing  had  the  small-pox  in  his  youth  was 
one  of  the  providential  events  of  his  life. 
That  loathsome  disease,  not  yet  robbed 
of  its  terrors  by  vaccination,  made  its 
appearance  in  the  besieging  army  before 
Boston,  but  the  life  of  its  commander 
was  safe. 

His  brother  Lawrence  returned  home 
in  the  summer  of  1752  ;  he  had  derived 
no  material  improvement  from  his  voyage, 
and  died  in  a  short  time  at  the  age  of 
thirty-four,  leaving  a  large  fortune  to  an 
infant  daughter.  George  was  appointed 
one  of  the  executors  of  his  will,  by  which, 
in  the  event  of  the  daughter's  decease, 
Mount  Vernon  was  bequeathed  to  him. 
Although  the  youngest  of  the  executors, 
in  consequence  of  his  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  brother's  affairs  the 


52  THE   LIFE   OF 

responsible  management  of  his  extensive 
estates  devolved  upon  him.  He  did  not, 
however,  allow  these  private  engagements 
to  interfere  with  his  public  duties.  As 
the  probability  of  a  collision  on  the  fron 
tier  increased,  greater  attention  was  paid 
to  the  military  organization  of  the  prov 
ince.  On  the  arrival  of  Governor  Din- 
widdie  in  1752,  it  was  divided  into  four 
military  districts ;  and  Washington's  ap 
pointment  was  renewed  as  adjutant-gen 
eral  of  the  northern  division,  in  which 
several  counties  were  included.  The  du 
ties  devolving  upon  him,  under  this  new 
commission,  in  attending  the  reviews  of 
the  militia  and  superintending  their  exer 
cises,  were  performed  with  a  punctuality 
and  zeal,  which  rapidly  drew  toward  him 
the  notice  and  favor  of  the  community. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  53 


CHAPTER   III. 

Commencement  of  Settlements  in  the  West  —  The  Ohio 
Company  —  Hostile  Movements  of  the  French  —  Wash 
ington's  Perilous  Expedition  to  Venango  —  Disastrous 
Campaign  of  1754  —  Braddock's  Expedition  and  Defeat 
in  1755  —  Arduous  and  Responsible  Duties  of  Wash 
ington  during  the  War  —  Expedition  against  Fort  Du- 
quesne  —  And  its  Capture. 

WE  now  approach  the  commencement 
of  Washington's  public  career,  and  of  a 
train  of  events  of  great  magnitude  and 
interest;  —  a  service  which,  though  on  a 
small  scale  and  performed  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  developed  much  of  the 
mature  strength  of  his  character.  The 
struggle  of  France  and  England  for  the 
exclusive  possession  of  the  Eastern  por 
tion  of  the  American  continent,  (for  the 
vast  region  lying  West  of  the  Mississippi 

5* 


54  THE  LIFE   OF 

was  as  yet  unknown  to  both,)  was  a 
principal  cause  of  the  European  wars  of 
the  last  century.  England  had  established 
her  prosperous  colonies  along  the  Atlantic 
coast.  France  had  intrenched  herself  at 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Mississippi,  and  aimed,  by  a  chain  of 
posts  drawn  North  and  South  through 
the  interior,  to  prevent  the  progress  of 
the  English  colonists  Westward,  and  con- 
line  them  within  constantly  reduced  lim 
its;  hoping,  no  doubt,  ultimately  to  drive 
them  from  the  continent.  This  struggle 
postponed  the  civilization  of  America  for 
a  hundred  years.  It  was  the  great  na 
tional  drama  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
In  its  progress,  it  subjected  the  entire 
frontier  to  all  the  horrors  of  a  remorse 
less  border  and  savage  war ;  and  it  re 
sulted  in  the  expulsion  of  the  French" 
from  the  North  American  continent ;  in 
reducing  the  British  dominions  to  a  por- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  55 

tion  of  the  territory  (the  Canadian  prov 
inces)  which  had  been  wrested  from 
France,  and  in  the  establishment  of 
the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  Everything  which  preceded 
the  treaty  of  peace  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1748,  may  be  considered  as  preliminary 
to  the  grand  series  of  events  on  which 
we  now  enter,  and  in  which  Washington 
is  immediately  to  perform  a  conspicuous, 
and  eventually,  the  most  important  part. 
Up  to  this  time,  the  fertile  region  West 
of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  now 
containing  nearly  half  of  the  population 
of  the  United  States,  was,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  a  few  scattered  French  trading 
posts  and  missionary  stations,  unoccupied 
by  civilized  man.  In  the  Western  part 
of  the  State  of  Maine,  in  the  entire 
State  of  Vermont,  and  in  the  Western 
portions  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Virginia,  in  Kentucky  and  the  States 


56  THE  LIFE  OF 

South    of   it    in    the    rear    of    the    Caro- 
linas  and  Georgia,  in  the   entire   territory 
Northwest  of  the   Ohio,  and  West  of  the 
Mississippi,  —  a   region    now  inhabited   by 
fifteen  millions  of  people, — there  did  not, 
in   the   middle   of  the    last   century,   arise 
the   smoke    of  a   single   hamlet  inhabited 
by  the    descendants    of  Englishmen.     On 
the  return  of  peace   between   France  and 
England    in     1748,     the     Ohio    Company 
was   formed.     Its   object   was   the    occupa 
tion  and  settlement  of  the  fertile  country 
Southeast  of  the    Ohio   and   West  of  the 
Alleghany   Mountains.     It  consisted    of    a 
small    number    of  gentlemen    in    Virginia 
and  Maryland,  with  one  associate  in  Lon 
don,  Mr.  Thomas  Hanbury,  a  distinguished 
merchant   of  that   city.     Lawrence   Wash 
ington  was  largely  interested  and  actively 
engaged   in    the    enterprise.     A  grant  of 
five  hundred  thousand   acres   of  land  was 
obtained  of  the   crown,  by  the   terms   of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  57 

which  the  company  were  obliged  to  intro 
duce  a  hundred  families  into  the  territory 
within  seven  years,  and  to  build  a  fort 
and  furnish  a  garrison  adequate  for  their 
defence.  Out  of  this  germ  of  private  en 
terprise  grew  the  Seven  Years'  war,  and 
by  no  doubtful  chain  of  cause  and  effect, 
the  war  of  American  Independence. 

The  Ohio  Company  proceeded   to   fulfil 
the    conditions    of   their    grant.     Prepara 
tions  for  Indian  trade  were  made;  a  road 
across  the  mountains,  substantially  on  the 
line   of  that   constructed  in  after-years  by 
federal    authority,   was    laid    out;   and    an 
agent  sent  to  conciliate  the  Indian  tribes. 
In   1752    a    treaty  was    entered    into    be 
tween   commissioners   of  Virginia  and  the 
Indians,   by   which   the    latter   agreed   not 
to    molest    any    settlements    which    might 
be  formed  by  the  company  on  the  South 
eastern   side    of  the    Ohio.     On   the   faith 
of   this    compact,    twelve    families    of   ad- 


58  THE  LIFE   OF 

venturers  from  Virginia,  headed  by  Cap 
tain  Gist,  proceeded  to  establish  them 
selves  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela. 
These  movements  were  viewed  with 
jealousy  by  the  French  colonial  govern 
ment  in  Canada.  Although  Great  Britain 
and  France  had  recently  concluded  a 
treaty  of  peace,  emissaries  were  sent 
from  Canada  to  induce  the  Indians  on 
the  Ohio  to  break  up  the  friendly  agree 
ment  just  entered  into  with  Virginia. 
Some  of  the  traders,  it  was  said,  were 
seized  and  sent  to  France ;  and  by  orders 
of  the  French  government  a  fort  was  im 
mediately  commenced  on  a  branch  of 
French  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  South 
of  Lake  Erie,  as  a  position  from  which 
the  Indians  could  be  controlled  and  the 
Virginians  held  in  check.  These  proceed 
ings  were  promptly  reported  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie  by  the  servants  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  and  the  governor  immediately 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  59 

determined  to.  make  them  the  subject  of 
remonstrance  addressed  to  the  French 
commandant;  rather,  it  may  be  supposed, 
with  a  view  to  ascertain  precisely  the 
facts  of  the  case  by  a  special  messenger, 
than  on  a  supposition  that  movements 
of  this  kind  could  be  arrested  by  any 
thing  less  than  the  interference  of  the 
supreme  authority  at  Paris  and  London. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  to  transmit  an 
official  message,  in  the  state  of  the  coun 
try  at  that  time,  from  the  banks  of 
James  River  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  distance  to  be  travelled  was  between 
five  and  six  hundred  miles,  the  greater 
part  of  the  way  through  a  wilderness. 
Mountains  were  to  be  climbed  and  rivers 
crossed ;  tribes  of  savages  occupied  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  intervening  space, 
and  all  the  hazards  of  an  Indian  frontier, 
in  a  state  of  daily  increasing  irritation, 
were  to  be  encountered.  To  all  these 


60  THE  LIFE   OF 

difficulties,  the  season  of  the  year  (it 
was  now  November)  added  obstacles  all 
but  insuperable,  in  the  absence  of  arti 
ficial  communications.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  some  persons  to  whom 
Governor  Dinwiddie  first  proposed  the 
service  should  excuse  themselves.  It  was 
offered  to  Major  Washington  and  by  him 
promptly  accepted,  although  the  decease 
of  his  brother  had  thrown  upon  him  do 
mestic  duties,  which  would  have  furnished 
an  honest  excuse  for  shrinking  from  the 
laborious  and  dangerous  commission.  But 
Washington  never  shrank  from  the  per 
formance  of  a  duty.  He  received  his  in 
structions,  and  started  from  Williamsburg 
on  the  30th  of  November,  1753. 

He  was  joined  at  Captain  Gist's  settle 
ment  on  the  Monongahela  by  that  brave 
pioneer  of  civilization.  At  Logstown  he 
held  a  conference  with  Tanacharison, 
who  was  the  chief  or  half-king  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  61 

friendly  Indians  seated  there,  and  who, 
with  two  or  three  others  of  the  natives, 
accompanied  Washington  and  Gist  first 
to  Venango,  —  a  post  on  the  French 
Creek,  —  and  then  to  the  head-quarters 
of  M.  de  St.  Pierre,  the  French  comman 
dant,  a  short  distance  farther  to  the  North. 
Here  Washington  performed  his  errand, 
by  delivering  his  despatches  and  receiving 
the  reply  of  the  commandant;  carefully 
noting  the  character  and  strength  of  the 
place,  and  gaining  such  information  as  he 
was  able  of  the  extent  of  the  military 
operations  in  progress.  The  return  jour 
ney  was  a  series  of  the  severest  ex 
posures  and  the  most  imminent  perils. 
Their  wearied  horses  were  sent  by  land 
back  to  Yenango  ;  while  Washington  and 
his  associates  in  a  canoe  descended  the 
river,  swollen  by  wintry  rains  and  at 
best  of  hazardous  navigation.  At  Venan 
go,  they  had  reason  to  suspect  hostile 


62  THE  LIFE   OF 

intentions  from    the  French  and   savages, 
and   Washington   and   Gist,  with   a   single 
Indian    guide,    in    order    to    hasten    their 
return  to  the  settlements,  started  through 
the   wilderness    on   foot,   with   their  packs 
on    their    shoulders     and     guns    in    their 
hands.     They    were    dogged    through    the 
woods  by  Indians   in   the  French  interest. 
Their  guide  exerted  all  the  arts  of  savage 
cunning,  after  leading   them   out   of  their 
path  in   the   forest,  to    get   possession   of 
Washington's    gun,    but    without    success. 
Baffled   by  their  wariness,   and   perceiving 
them   at   nightfall   to   be   fatigued   by   the 
weary  march,  he   turned   upon  them,   and 
at  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet  fired  with  his 
double-barrelled    rifle ;    but  without   injur 
ing  either  of  them.    Gist  would  have  put 
him  to  death  on  the  spot,  but  Washington 
insisted  upon  sparing  his   life,  justly  as  it 
had  been   forfeited.     After   detaining  him 
to  a  late   hour,  they  allowed  him  to   es- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  63 

cape,  and  in  order  to  forestall  an  attack, 
from  such  confederates  as  he  might  have 
lurking  in  the  woods,  they  pursued  their 
own  journey,  weary  as  they  were,  through 
the  long  December's  night. 

Not  doubting  that  the  savages  would 
soon  be  on  their  trail,  they  dared  not 
stop  till  they  reached  the  Alleghany 
Kiver,  a  clear  and  rapid  stream,  which 
they  hoped  to  be  able  to  cross  on  the 
ice,  —  their  only  consolation  under  the 
stinging  severity  of  the  weather.  The 
river  unfortunately  was  neither  frozen 
across  nor  wholly  open ;  but  fringed  with 
ice  for  fifty  yards  on  each  shore,  and  the 
middle  stream  filled  with  cakes  of  ice 
furiously  drifting  down  the  current.  With 
"one  poor  hatchet,"  to  use  Washington's 
own  expression,  they  commenced  the  con 
struction  of  a  raft,  which  it  took  them  all 
day  to  complete.  They  launched  it  upon 
the  river,  but  wrere  soon  so  surrounded 


64  THE   LIFE  OF 

and  wedged  in  by  drifting  masses  of  ice, 
that  they  expected  every  moment  that 
their  raft  would  go  to  pieces,  and  they 
themselves  be  hurled  into  the  water,  at 
the  extreme  peril  of  their  lives.  Wash 
ington  put  out  his  pole  to  stop  the  raft, 
till  the  fields  of  ice  should  float  by  ;  but 
the  raft  was  urged  with  so  much  vio 
lence  upon  his  pole,  that  he  himself, 
holding  to  it,  was  thrown  into  the  river, 
where  it  was  ten  feet  deep.  He  saved 
his  life  by  clinging  to  a  log;  but  unable 
to  force  the  raft  to  either  shore,  they 
were  compelled  to  leave  it,  and  passed 
the  night  on  an  island  in  the  middle  of 
the  river.  So  intense  was  the  cold,  that 
the  hands  and  feet  of  Captain  Gist,  an 
experienced  woodsman,  were  frozen.  Hap 
pily  the  river  froze  wholly  over  during 
the  night,  and  they  were  enabled  to  cross 
to  the  opposite  bank  in  the  morning  on 
the  ice.  To  this  circumstance  they  were 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  65 

indebted   no   doubt  for   their   escape  from 
the  tomahawk  of  the  pursuing  savages. 

The  foregoing  adventure  has  been  given 
in  some  detail  from  Washington's  official 
report,  which  was  sent  by  Governor  Din- 
widdie  to  London  and  there  published. 
It  throws  light  on  traits  of  his  character, 
which  in  after-life  have  been  somewhat 
overlooked,  in  consequence  of  the  habitual 
circumspection  and  prudence  which  were 
forced  upon  him  by  circumstances,  during 
his  revolutionary  career.  This  dangerous 
errand  was  undertaken  by  "Washington 
through  an  unsettled  wilderness,  infested 
by  savages,  at  a  season  of  the  year  when 
the  huntsman  in  his  log  cabin  shrinks 
from  the  storm ;  and  this  not  by  a  pen 
niless  adventurer,  taking  desperate  risks 
for  promotion  and  bread;  but  by  a  young 
man  allied  by  blood  and  connected  by 
friendship  with  the  most  influential  fami 
lies  in  the  colony,  possessed  of  property 

G* 


66  THE   LIFE   OF 

in  his  own  right,  with  large  presump 
tive  expectations.  In  this  his  first  official 
service,  undertaken  under  these  circum 
stances,  he  displayed  the  courage,  the 
presence  of  mind,  the  fortitude,  the  en 
durance,  the  humanity  (on  a  small  scale 
indeed,  but  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  in  pre 
serving  that  of  the  treacherous  savage), 
which,  throughout  his  career,  never  failed 
to  mark  his  conduct. 

Although  war  was  not  formally  declared 
between  France  and  England  till  May, 
1756,  hostilities  broke  out  the  following 
year  (1754)  along  the  frontier  of  the 
Anglo-American  colonies.  Preparations,  of 
which  the  promise  was  greater  than  the 
reality,  were  made  by  the  provincial  as 
semblies  and  governors.  The  Ohio  Com 
pany  commenced  a  fort  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Monongahela  and  the  Alleghany, 
and  a  regiment,  feeble  in  numbers,  "self- 
willed  and  ungovernable,"  of  which  Wash- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  67 

ington  was  second  in   command,  was  sent 
to  their  support.     The  movements   of  the 
French  were   more    prompt    and    formida 
ble ;  a  large  force  of  Europeans   and  sav 
ages    in    their    interest    came    down    from 
Venango,  the   servants   of  the  Ohio  Land 
Company   were   captured  or    driven   from 
the  work  which  they  had   commenced   at 
the  junction   of  the   rivers,  and   Fort  Du- 
quesne   was    erected    on    the    spot.     This 
was    the    first    blow    struck   in    the    great 
Seven  Years'  War;  and  it  is  a  memorable 
incident  in   the   life   of  Washington,   then 
but    twenty-two    years    of   age,    and    acci 
dentally   in   command    of  a    trifling   force 
in  the  unsettled   region  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  that    it  devolved   on  him  to   re 
pel  it. 

He  immediately  sent  despatches  to  the 
neighboring  governors  requesting  aid;  but 
without  waiting  for  the  greatly  needed 
reinforcements,  pushed  on  through  the 


68  THE  LIFE   OF 

wilderness  to  the  defence  of  the  frontier. 
Receiving  intelligence  from  the  friendly 
Indians  that  a  party  of  the  enemy  was 
lurking  in  the  woods,  Washington,  igno 
rant  of  their  strength  and  in  order  to  be 
prepared  for  an  emergency,  threw  up  a 
slight  work  at  a  place  called  the  "Great 
Meadows,"  and  which  he  described  as  "a 
charming  field  for  an  encounter."  Hav 
ing  here  received  more  particular  infor 
mation  from  Captain  Gist  and  the  friendly 
Indians  of  the  whereabout  of  the  enemy, 
he  came  upon  them  by  surprise,  after  a 
forced  march  by  night,  with  a  company 
of  picked  men.  In  the  conflict  that  en 
sued,  ten  of  the  French,  including  their 
leader  Jumonville,  were  killed,  and  twenty- 
one  made  prisoners. 

By  the  death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Will's 
Creek,  on  the  way  to  join  the  little 
army,  Washington  became  its  Commander- 
in-chief.  Reinforcements  were  put  in  mo- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  69 

tion ;  but  none  arrived,  with  the  exception 
of  an    independent    company   from   South 
Carolina,    about    a    hundred    strong,    who 
reached  the   Great   Meadows    under    Cap 
tain    Mackay.      The    main    body    of    the 
French     at     Fort     Duquesne,    with    their 
Indian    allies,    were    believed    greatly    to 
outnumber    the    Anglo-Americans.     Aware 
that   as   soon    as    the    fate    of  Jumonville 
should    become     known     to     the     French 
commandant   a  formidable  force  would  be 
sent    against    him,    Washington    strength 
ened  his   position  at  the  Great  Meadows, 
by    an    intrenchment    and    palisade,    and 
called    the  work    "Fort    Necessity."     Bur 
dened  by   the   Indians,  who    crowded    his 
camp    with    their    families,    and    harassed 
by  the   claims   of  precedence  on  the  part 
of  Captain  Mackay,  he   made   an  advance 
movement,    by    a    very    laborious    march, 
with  a  large   portion   of  his   force,  to  the 
Monongahela.     So   difficult  was   the   coun- 


70  THE   LIFE   OF 

try  for  artillery,   that   ten    days   were   re 
quired    for    a    distance    of  thirteen    miles. 
Arrived   at  Gist's   Settlement,  he   received 
intelligence    from    deserters    and    Indians, 
that    Fort    Duquesne    had    been    strongly 
reinforced    by    troops    from    Canada,    and 
savages  under  the  French   influence.     Ap 
prehending  an  attack,  he  ordered  up  Cap 
tain  Mackay,  who  had  been  left  with  the 
reserve    at    the    Great    Meadows,    to    his 
support,  who   promptly   obeyed    the    sum 
mons.     It    was    decided,    however,    by    a 
council   of  war,   that  it  would    be    unsafe 
to  risk  a  battle   in   the   open   field,  and  a 
retreat  to  Fort  Necessity  was   determined 
on.     This   was    effected  with    difficulty  in 
two  days;  and  as  the  troops  from  fatigue 
and    want    of  provisions    were    unable    to 
pursue    the   march,   it   was    concluded    to 
make    a    stand,    and     await     the     enemy 
within    their    intrenchments. 

The    fort    was    soon    invested    by    the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  71 

French  and  Indians,  who  were  able  on 
one  point  to  command  the  interior  of 
the  work.  A  severe  action  commenced 
on  the  3d  of  July,  and  was  prolonged 
till  late  in  the  evening.  A  capitulation 
was  then  proposed  by  the  French  com 
mander  and  accepted  by  Washington.  It 
was  drawn  up  in  a  drenching  rain  at 
night,  after  a  hard-fought  day,  in  the 
French  language,  and  signed  by  Wash 
ington,  not  knowing  that  through  the 
fraud  or  ignorance  of  his  interpreter, 
Van  Braam,  the  death  of  Jumonville  was 
called,  in  the  act  of  capitulation,  an  "  as 
sassination," —  a  circumstance  wrhich  was 
made  a  futile  subject  of  reproach  to 
Washington  in  France  at  the  time,  and 
has  been  occasionally  revived  since.  The 
following  day,  the  Fourth  of  July,  he 
led  out  his  little  force  from  the  stockade, 
and  conducted  them  in  safety  through 
ill-restrained  bands  of  savages  to  Fort 
Cumberland. 


72  THE  LIFE   OF 

The  following  year  serious  efforts  were 
made,  both  by  France  and  England,  to 
strengthen  themselves  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio.  Two  regiments  were  sent  from 
England,  under  the  brave  but  self-suffi 
cient,  obstinate,  and  unfortunate  Brad- 
dock.  New  orders  came  with  them  rela 
tive  to  precedence,  which  disgusted  the 
provincial  officers.  Washington  threw  up 
his  commission,  but,  strongly  attached  to 
the  profession  of  arms,  he  gladly  accept 
ed  an  invitation  from  General  Braddock, 
to  join  his  military  family  as  a  volunteer. 
Great  delays  attended  the  collecting  of 
supplies  and  forwarding  of  troops.  Wash 
ington  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  was  of 
necessity  left  behind,  determined  however 
to  rejoin  the  army  at  the  first  moment 
of  convalescence.  The  General,  inexperi 
enced  in  the  warfare  of  the  wilderness, 
neglected  the  measures  necessary  to  con 
ciliate  the  Indians  and  the  precautions 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  73 

requisite  to  prevent  surprise.  Washington 
arrived  at  camp  but  the  day  before  the 
catastrophe.  He  was  accustomed  in  after 
life  to  describe  the  appearance  of  the 
army,  as  they  crossed  the  Monongahela 
on  the  9th  of  July,  and  moved  forward 
in  confident  expectation  of  reducing  Fort 
Duquesne  the  following  day,  as  the  most 
magnificent  spectacle  he  had  ever  beheld. 
A  few  hours  only  passed,  before  they  fell 
into  an  ambuscade ;  the  forest  rang  with 
the  war-whoop  of  the  Indians ;  the  ad 
vance  under  Colonel  Gage  (afterwards 
the  last  royal  governor  of  Massachusetts) 
was  driven  back  on  the  main  body,  which 
was  thereby  thrown  into  confusion ;  offi 
cers  and  men  dropped  on  every  side, 
under  the  murderous  fire  of  the  enemy, 
concealed  in  the  woody  ravines  right  and 
left;  and  at  length  the  whole  force,  panic- 
struck  and  disorganized,  after  a  terrific 
and  deadly  struggle  of  three  hours,  in 


74  THE  LIFE  OF 

which  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  trifling, 
suffered  a  total  defeat.  "They  ran  before 
the  French  and  Indians/'  says  Washing 
ton,  "like  sheep  before  dogs."  Of  four 
teen  hundred  and  sixty  in  Braddock's 
army,  officers  and  privates,  four  hundred 
and  fifty-six  were  killed  outright,  and 
four  hundred  and  twenty-one  were  wound 
ed;  a  greater  proportion  of  killed  and 
wounded  than  is  reported  in  any  of  the 
celebrated  actions  of  the  present  day. 
The  General  himself  was  mortally  wound 
ed,  and  brought  off  with  difficulty  from 
the  field. 

Washington  acted  as  the  General's  aid 
throughout  the  engagement;  and  after  the 
other  aids,  Orme  and  Morris,  were  dis 
abled,  the  perilous  duty  devolved  exclu 
sively  on  him.  It  was  performed  by  him, 
according  to  his  brother  officer  Orme,  who 
witnessed  his  conduct,  "with  the  greatest 
courage  and  resolution."  "By  the  all- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  75 

powerful  dispensations  of  Providence,"  he 
writes  to  his  brother,  "I  have  been  pro 
tected  beyond  all  human  probability  or 
expectation ;  for  I  had  four  bullets  through 
my  coat,  and  two  horses  shot  under  me ; 
yet  I  escaped  unhurt,  though  death  was 
levelling  my  companions  on  every  side." 
His  friend  and  physician,  Dr.  Craik,  said, 
"  I  expected  every  moment  to  see  him 
fall."  A  very  curious  anecdote  has  also 
been  preserved,  on  the  authority  of  Dr. 
Craik,  who  relates  that  when  Washington, 
fifteen  years  later,  made  a  journey  to 
the  Great  Kenhawa,  he  was  approached 
by  the  chief  of  a  band  of  Indians,  who 
said  that  he  had  come  a  long  distance 
to  see  Washington,  at  whom  he  had 
aimed  his  rifle  many  times  in  the  battle 
of  the  Monongahela,  but  without  effect. 
—  A  seal  of  Washington  with  his  initials, 
probably  shot  away  from  his  person,  was 
found,  after  a  lapse  of  eighty  years,  on 


76  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  field  of  battle,  and  is  now  in  the  pos 
session  of  a  member  of  the  family.  —  So 
prevalent  was  the  impression  of  his  al 
most  miraculous  escape  from  the  perils 
of  this  disastrous  day,  that  President 
Daveis  of  New  Jersey  College,  but  at 
that  time  a  clergyman  in  Virginia,  in  a 
sermon  preached  in  the  month  of  August 
following,  before  a  company  of  volunteers, 
after  commending  the  patriotic  ardor  which 
had  been  manifested  in  the  colony,  added, 
"As  a  remarkable  instance  of  this,  I  may 
point  out  to  the  public  that  heroic  youth, 
Colonel  Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but 
hope  Providence  has  hitherto  preserved 
in  so  signal  a  manner,  for  some  important 
service  to  his  country." 

There  is  certainly  something  extraor 
dinary  in  the  brilliant  reputation  with 
which  Washington,  a  young  officer  hold 
ing  no  higher  position  in  the  army  than 
that  of  a  volunteer  aid  to  its  unfortunate 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  77 

chief,  returned  from  this  disastrous  cam 
paign.  His  preservation,  as  we  have  just 
seen,  was  ascribed  to  nothing  less  than 
Providential  interposition.  The  exposed 
state  of  the  frontier,  thrown  open  to  the 
enemy,  required  immediate  measures  of 
protection.  A  provincial  force  of  two 
thousand  men  was  immediately  voted  by 
the  Assembly,  and  though  the  govern 
or  was  supposed  to  favor  another  can 
didate,  the  command  was  given  by  him 
to  Washington.  He  received  this  ap 
pointment  in  four  weeks  after  his  return 
from  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela.  He 
immediately  established  his  head-quarters 
at  Winchester,  then  one  of  the  most  ad 
vanced  settlements,  and  from  that  point 
superintended  the  operations  of  the  Vir 
ginia  frontier,  for  the  rest  of  the  war. 
These,  with  the  exception  to  be  presently 
mentioned,  were  of  a  defensive  character. 
No  important  expeditions  were  attempt- 

7* 


78  THE   LIFE   OF 

ed;  no  great  battles  fought;  but  a  line 
of  feeble  settlements,  extending  for  sev 
eral  hundred  miles,  was  to  be  protected 
from  roving  bands  of  savages,  counte 
nanced  by  the  French  commandant,  em 
boldened  by  the  events  of  1755,  and 
stimulated  to  plunder  and  bloodshed  by 
outcasts  from  the  colonies. 

The  task  of  the  youthful  Cominander- 
in-chief —  responsible  for  the  peace  of 
the  frontier,  but  with  very  inadequate 
means  at  his  command  —  was  arduous 
in  the  extreme.  A  reluctant  and  undis 
ciplined  militia  was  to  be  retained  in  the 
ranks  by  personal  influence,  -  -  without 
pay,  without  clothes,  and  very  imper 
fectly  armed.  Contradictory  and  imprac 
ticable  orders  were  continually  received 
from  Governor  Dinwiddie,  who  was  wholly 
unskilled  in  military  matters,  but  obsti 
nately  insisted  on  directing  everything. 
Greedy  and  dishonest  contractors  played 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  79 

their   ancient   game   of  fraud.     The    arro 
gant    pretensions    of    a    subaltern    officer, 
bearing    a    royal    commission,    kept    Fort 
Cumberland    in    an    unsettled    state,    and 
compelled    Colonel    Washington     in    mid 
winter    to    go    to    Boston    for    a    solution 
of    the    difficulty    by    Governor    Shirley, 
then  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  royal 
forces  on  the  continent.     Wholesale  deser 
tions   on    the    approach    of  danger   weak 
ened    his    little    force ;    and    the    intrigues 
of  rivals  aspiring  to   his  place,  and  seek 
ing  to  gain  it  by  traducing  his  character, 
outraged  his  feelings.     In  his  official  cor 
respondence  for  1756  and  1757,  all  these 
sources  of  embarrassment  and   annoyance 
are    set    forth;    and   we    are    struck    with 
the  similarity  of  the  state  of  things  then 
existing,    with    that    to    which    we    shall 
presently  have  occasion   to  advert  in  the 
Revolutionary    War.     While    nothing    can 
be  conceived   more  harassing,  it  must  be 


80  THE   LIFE   OF 

admitted  that  it  formed  the  best  imagin 
able  school  of  preparation,  for  the  more 
momentous  scenes  in  which  he  was  here 
after  to  act  a  leading  part.  It  was  not, 
however,  unattended  with  personal  dan 
ger.  The  fatigues  and  anxieties  which 
he  underwent,  again  brought  on  a  severe 
illness,  with  which  he  suffered  for  four 
months  at  the  close  of  1757  and  the  be 
ginning  of  1758. 

The  campaign  of  1758  was  devoted 
to  an  important  military  expedition  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  against  Fort 
Duquesne,  in  which  Washington,  as  com 
mander  of  the  Virginia  contingent,  took 
a  leading  part.  The  whole  force  destined 
for  the  expedition  was  placed  under  the 
command  of  General  Forbes;  and  in  con 
sequence  of  his  illness  at  Philadelphia, 
the  loss  of  time  in  opening  a  new  road 
into  the  wilderness  (contrary  to  the  ad 
vice  of  Washington),  and  the  usual  tar- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  81 

diness   of   military   operations    in    colonies 
remote    from    the    seat    of   power,  it    was 
late  in  the  autumn  before  the  army  took 
the  field.     Washington,  at  his  earnest  so 
licitation,   led   the    advance  to    scour    the 
forest  and  open  the   roads.     It  was,  how 
ever,  far  in  November  before  they  reached 
the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Duquesne  ;  and 
the  commander,  after  a  serious  check,  was 
on  the  point  of  abandoning  the  enterprise 
for    that    year.      The    report    brought    by 
deserters    of  the    weakness   of  the    garri 
son,  determined  him,  at  the  last  moment, 
to   make   the   advance ;    and   on   the   25th 
of    November,    1758,    he    arrived    at    the 
fort,   and    found    that    it   had   been  aban 
doned    and   burned    by    the    enemy.     The 
English    and    provincials    erected    a    tem 
porary   work    on    the    spot,    to    which,    in 
honor    of    the    great    minister,    who    had 
infused  his  spirit  into   the   conduct  of  the 
war,   they   gave    the    name    of  Fort    Pitt, 


THE   LIFE   OF 

still  preserved  in  that  of  Pittsburg.  The 
power  of  France  was  thus  finally  sub 
verted  on  the  Ohio,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  forever  established  on  "the  beautiful 
Biver."  The  fall  of  Quebec  the  following 
year,  and  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of 
1763,  extinguished  the  French  dominion 
in  North  America. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  83 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Retirement  from  the  Army  —  Marriage  —  Election  to  the 
House  of  Burgesses  and  Character  as  a  Member— His 
Occupations  as  a  Planter,  and  business  Habits  —  Visits 
the  unsettled  Parts  of  the  State  —  Commencement  of 
the  Controversy  with  the  Mother-Country  —  Mistaken 
Impression  that  Washington  was  ever  lukewarm  in  the 
American  Cause  — Proofs  of  the  Contrary  — His  early 
Career  admirably  calculated  to  fit  him  for  the  great  Work 
of  his  life. 

THE  health  of  Washington,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  suffered  severely  in  the  prog 
ress  of  the  war.  He  had  made  re 
peated  attempts  to  obtain  a  commission 
in  the  royal  army;  but,  although  pos 
sessing  in  the  highest  degree  as  a  mil 
itary  man  the  confidence  of  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  General  Braddock,  and  his  suc 
cessors,  those  attempts  were  unsuccessful. 
Commissions  were  monopolized  by  younger 


84  THE  LIFE   OF 

sons  and  the  favorites  of  power  at  home. 
Thus  was  the  wish  of  Washington  to 
enter  the  royal  service  baffled  a  second 
time.  By  what  narrow  chances  the  fate 
of  empires  is  determined !  Having  no 
prospect  of  advancement  in  his  favorite 
profession,  and  having,  in  the  fall  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  seen  the  great  object  of  the 
contest  obtained,  as  far  as  Virginia,  Mary 
land,  and  Pennsylvania  were  concerned, 
he  determined  to  retire  from  public  life, 
and  devote  himself  to  the  care  of  his 
property,  which  had  suffered  by  neglect, 
and  the  duties  of  a  private  citizen. 

Having  in  the  course  of  the  preceding 
year  paid  his  addresses  successfully  to 
Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  the  widow  of  Colonel 
John  Custis,  of  Virginia,  he  was  married 
to  that  lady  on  the  6th  of  January,  1759. 
There  is  a  constant  tradition  that  three 
years  before  he  had  been  a  suitor  to 
Mary  Phillipse,  the  sister-in-law  of  Colonel 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  85 

Beverley  Robinson,  of  New  York,  whose 
guest  he  was  on  his  journey  to  and  from 
the  Eastern  Colonies  in  1756.  On  this 
occasion,  Colonel  Morris,  his  associate  in 
arms  at  Braddock's  defeat,  and  his  com 
panion  in  the  excursion  to  the  East,  hav 
ing  lingered  in  New  York  after  the  re 
turn  of  Washington  to  the  army,  proved 
a  successful  rival,  and  became  the  husband 
of  the  lady.  She  was  the  heiress  of  a 
large  landed  property  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  her  family  adhered  to 
the  royal  side  in  the  Revolution.  This 
lady  is  said  to  have  died  in  England  at 
the  age  of  ninety-four,  —  having  survived 
Washington  about  twenty-five  years.  One 
cannot  but  bestow  a  passing  thought  on 
the  question,  what  might  have  been  the 
effect  on  the  march  of  events,  if  Wash 
ington,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  and  be 
fore  the  controversies  between  the  mother- 
country  and  the  colonies  had  commenced, 


86  THE  LIFE  OF 

had  formed  a  matrimonial  alliance  with 
a  family  of  wealth  and  influence  in  New 
York,  which  adhered  to  the  royal  cause, 
and  left  America  as  loyalists  when  the 
war  broke  out.  It  is  a  somewhat  curious 
fact,  that  Washington's  head-quarters,  dur 
ing  a  part  of  the  campaign  of  1776,  were 
established  in  the  stately  mansion  of  the 
Morrises,  on  Harlem  River.* 

His  connection  with  Mrs.  Washington 
was  in  all  respects  fortunate.  She  was 
the  mother  of  two  children  by  her  for 
mer  marriage ;  she  brought  him  a  large 
accession  of  fortune  for  those  days ;  and 
by  her  solid  virtues,  cheerful  disposition, 
and  simple  and  amiable  manners,  relieved 
him  from  the  cares  of  domestic  life, 
strengthened  the  attachment  of  his  friends, 
and  adorned  the  high  .public  stations  to 
which  he  was  successively  called.  He 
remained  childless ;  but  he  adopted  her 

*  Lossing's  Mount   Vernon  and  its  Associations,  p.  46. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  87 

children  as  his  own,  and  superintended 
their  education  and  managed  their  for 
tunes  with  parental  care.  The  daughter 
died  in  early  life;  the  son  became  an  Aid 
to  Washington  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  but  died  in  1781,  leaving  three 
daughters  and  a  son.  The  youngest 
daughter,  who  afterwards  married  Law 
rence  Lewis,  Esq.,  and  the  son,  George 
W.  Parke  Custis,  who  died  at  Arlington, 
in  Virginia,  in  the  year  1857,  were  adoptr 
ed  by  Washington  and  brought  up  at 
Mount  Vernon. 

Washington,  though  absent  with  the 
army,  had  been  elected  to  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses  in  1757.  After  his 
retirement  from  the  service,  he  took 
his  seat,  and  continued  a  member  of 
that  body  under  repeated  reflections,  till 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  He  was  remarkably  diligent  and 
punctual  in  the  performance  of  his  du- 


88  THE  LIFE   OF 

ties   as  a  legislator  and    a  representative, 
but  seldom  took  part   in   debate   properly 
so  called,  and  never   made  a  long  speech. 
In    this   respect   he   resembles   two   others 
of  the   foremost  leaders   of  the   American 
Kevolution,   Franklin    and    Jefferson,   men 
who    in    general    intellectual    culture    and 
political    training    had    the    advantage    of 
Washington,  but  who  like  him  had  never 
formed    themselves    to    the    habit    of    de 
bate.     His   recommendation  to   a  nephew, 
on  being  chosen  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  may   be   taken   as   the   indi 
cation   of  his   own    rule   of   conduct:    "If 
you  have  a  mind  to   command  the   atten 
tion  of  the  House,  the  only  advice  I  will 
offer   is   to    speak    seldom    but   on   impor 
tant   subjects,  except   such  as  particularly 
relate    to    your    constituents;    and  in   the 
former  case  make  yourself  perfectly  mas 
ter  of  the    subject.     Never    exceed    a   de 
cent  warmth,  and  submit  your  sentiments 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON.  89 

with  diffidence.  A  dictatorial  style,  though 
it  may  carry  conviction,  is  always  ac 
companied  with  disgust." 

Such  was  the  habit  of  Washington 
himself ;  it  was  the  only  course  consist 
ent  with  his  natural  disposition  and  pe 
culiar  balance  of  mental  qualities.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  in  this,  as  in  some  other 
respects,  the  possession  of  more  brilliant 
qualities  would  have  marred  the  sym 
metry  of  his  character  and  lessened  his 
influence.  Shining  powers  of  debate,  for 
instance,  had  he  possessed  them,  would, 
by  the  necessity  of  that  talent,  have  fixed 
him  as  a  partisan,  and  consequently  have 
impaired  that  influence  through  which 
he  controlled  all  parties.  As  it  was,  no 
one  possessed  greater  ascendency  in  all 
deliberative  bodies  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  On  the  return  to  Virginia  of 
the  delegates  to  the  first  Continental 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  Patrick  Henry, 

8* 


90  THE    LIFE    OF 

himself  generally  regarded  as  the  first  of 
American  orators,  was  asked  who  was 
the  greatest  man  in  the  assembly.  His 
reply  was,  "If  you  speak  of  eloquence, 
Mr.  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina  is  by  far 
the  greatest  orator ;  but  if  you  speak  of 
solid  information  and  sound  judgment, 
Colonel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the 
greatest  man  on  the  floor." 

Shortly  after  his  marriage,  Washington 
established  his  permanent  home  at  Mount 
Vernon,  and  gave  himself  up  to  the  usual 
routine  of  plantation  life,  as  pursued  in 
those  days.  Tobacco  was  then  the  great 
staple  product  of  this  part  of  Virginia, 
and  Washington  was  in  the  habit  of 
shipping  his  crop  directly  to  London,  to 
Liverpool,  and  to  Bristol.  All  supplies 
of  manufactures  for  clothing,  implements 
of  husbandry,  and  matters  of  taste  and 
luxury  were  derived  by  direct  importa 
tion  from  England,  usually  twice  a  year. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  91 

All  the  business  connected  with  the  cul 
tivation  of  his  estates  and  the  exportation 
of  his  crops,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
orders  for  his  return  supplies,  on  the  other, 
were  superintended  by  him  in  person.  His 
letters  were  written  and  copied,  and  his 
accoun^books  kept  by  himself  in  mer 
cantile  order,  and  with  extreme  neat 
ness  and  precision.  In  the  course  of 
these  transactions,  the  minutest  details 
of  domestic  economy  necessarily  received 
his  attention,  down  to  the  most  trifling 
article  of  clothing  for  the  children.  While 
he  gave  his  hours  of  labor  to  these  hum 
ble  occupations,  he  found  a  much  cher 
ished  relaxation  in  the  sports  of  the 
field.  He  was  a  bold  rider,  and  followed 
the  fox-hounds,  sometimes  two  or  three 
times  a  week,  with  untiring  spirit.  It 
is  related  that  at  the  battle  of  Princeton, 
(where,  as  he  told  the  painter  Trumbull, 
he  was  in  greater  danger  than  ever  be- 


92  THE  LIFE   OF 

fore  in  the  course  of  his  life,  being  at 
one  time  between  the  fire  of  both  ar 
mies,)  perceiving  a  regiment  of  the  en 
emy  in  full  retreat  down  the  hill,  he 
leaped  his  favorite  roan  hunter  over  a 
stone-wall  which  crowned  the  summit, 
gave  the  view  halloo,  and  said  to  his 
aids,  «  A  perfect  fox-chase  ! " 

In  the  year  1770,  Washington  revisited 
the  scenes  of  his  youthful  adventure  and 
service.  Accompanied  by  Dr.  Craik,  who 
shared  with  him  the  hazards  of  Brad- 

s 

dock's  field,  and  a  party  of  friends  and 
servants,  he  went  on  horseback  to  Pitts- 
burg,  then  in  its  infancy,  and  descend 
ed  the  Ohio  Eiver  from  that  place  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kenhawa  in 
Virginia.  —  A  net  of  railroads  now  covers 
the  region  through  which  they  rode,  and 
hundreds  of  steamers  ply  the  waters  of 
the  Ohio. — Washington  and  his  party 
floated  down  the  river  in  an  open  boat, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  93 

exposed  to  the  savages  on  the  right  bank, 
on  which  at  that  time  there  were  no 
white  settlements,  and  obliged  to  land  at 
night  and  encamp  in  the  woods.  Hav 
ing  reached  the  Kenhawa,  they  ascended 
that  stream,  and  made  valuable  selections 
of  fertile  lands.  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that  the  interview  with  the  Indian  chief 
took  place,  which  has  been  already  de 
scribed.  One  object  of  this  excursion 
was  to  select  and  mark  out  the  lands, 
granted  by  the  colonial  government,  as 
a  bounty  to  the  soldiers  who  had  served 
in  the  war. 

The  contest  of  legislation  had  been  for 
some  years  in  progress,  which  preluded 
the  great  scene  of  Washington's  services 
and  fame,  —  the  American  Revolution. 
With  a  view  to  American  revenue,  the 
Stamp  Act  was  passed.  It  was  repealed, 
but  with  the  assertion  of  a  right  to  tax 
America;  and  this  theory,  carried  out  in 


94  THE  LIFE   OF 

practice  by  the  enactment  of  the  duties 
on  tea,  glass,  and  painters'  colors,  of  which 
the  first-named  was  persistently  retained 
when  the  others  were  rescinded,  brought 
on  the  war.  These  ill-advised  measures, 
which  we  have  grouped  in  a  sentence, 
were  spread  over  eight  years  of  irritation, 
disaffection,  and  ripening  revolt.  Wash 
ington,  by  nature  the  most  loyal  of  men 
to  order  and  law,  whose  rule  of  social 
life  was  obedience  to  rightful  authority, 
was  from  the  first  firmly  on  the  Ameri 
can  side  ;  not  courting,  not  contemplating 
even,  till  the  eve  of  the  explosion,  a  forci 
ble  resistance  to  the  mother-country,  but 
not  recoiling  from  it,  when  forced  upon 
the  colonies  as  the  inevitable  result  of 
their  principles.  An  impression  has  ex 
isted  in  some  quarters  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  that  Washington  originally 
leaned  to  the  royalist  side  in  the  great 
conflict  of  opinion  and  feeling  that  pre- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  95 

ceded    the    Revolutionary   War.     His    cor 
respondence,    not    less     than     his     public 
course    as    a    member    of   the    House    of 
Burgesses,    shows    this    impression    to    be 
utterly  groundless.     It  may  have   had   its 
origin  in  the   fact,  that,  not  being  a  pub 
lic    speaker    or    writer,    he    was    less    fre 
quently   and    prominently  brought  before 
the   public   as   an   open    champion   of  the 
cause,  than  some  of  the   other  leaders  of 
the  Revolution.    The  spurious  letters  bear 
ing   his    name,    and  which   were    industri 
ously   published   in   a  volume    at    London 
during    the    war,    in    order    to    shake    the 
faith   of  his   countrymen   in  his  integrity, 
contributed   no   doubt    to    strengthen    this 
impression.     It  is  matter   of  surprise  that 
the    title    of   a    fabrication    of    this    kind, 
which   one   is   pleased   to   think  would,  at 
this    time    of   day,   be    deemed    unworthy 
a  place  among  the  instruments   of  honor 
able    warfare,    should    be    admitted    as    a 


96  THE  LIFE  OF 

genuine  publication  into   respectable  liter 
ary  manuals.* 

Washington  was  the  near  neighbor  and 
confidential  friend   of  George  Mason,  who 
drew   the   plan   of  the   association   not   to 
import  British  manufactures  in  1774;  and 
in  the  absence  of  Mason  from  the  House 
of   Burgesses,    and    as    chairman    of    the 
meeting     at     which     the     resolves     were 
adopted,  he  presented  it  to  the  assembly. 
There    is    not    the    slightest   trace   of  dis 
sent   on   his   part  from   any  of  the   meas 
ures   of  the   popular  leaders,   except  that 
he  deemed   it  wrong  to  forbid  the  export 
of  American  produce   to   England,  as  this 
was  the  only  fund  out  of  which  the  colo 
nies  were  able   to   pay  their  debts  to  the 
British  manufacturer.     His  name  is  found 
in    conjunction    with    those    of  the    most 
constant    patriots,    in    the    anxious    years 
that   preceded    the    appeal   to   arms;   and 

*  Lowndes's  Bibliographers'  Manual. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  97 

when  the  House  of  Burgesses  was  dis 
solved  by  the  royal  governor  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1774,  Washington  was  a  member 
of  the  convention  chosen  to  take  its  place, 
and  was,  with  five  associates,  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  first  Continental  Congress, 
which  met  in  Philadelphia  in  the  autumn 
of  that  year.  Of  his  position  in  that  as 
sembly,  the  estimate  formed  by  Patrick 
Henry,  one  of  the  most  fervid  of  patriots, 
has  already  been  given.  A  letter  written 
by  him  from  Philadelphia  to  one  of  his 
former  companions  in  arms,  Captain  Mac 
kenzie,  then  stationed  at  Boston,  exhibits 
the  state  of  Washington's  mind  at  this 
period,  as  of  that  of  the  class  of  men 
whom  he  represented.  The  following  ex 
tract  will  suffice:  "I  think  I  can  an 
nounce  it  as  a  fact,  that  it  is  not  the 
wish  nor  the  interest  of  the  government 
of  Massachusetts,  or  any  other  govern 
ment  upon  this  continent,  separately  or 


98  THE  LIFE   OF 

collectively,  to  set  up  for  independence; 
but  this  you  may  I'ely  upon,  that  none 
of  them  will  ever  submit  to  the  loss 
of  those  valuable  rights  and  privileges, 
which  are  essential  to  the  inhabitants  of 
every  free  State,  and  without  which  life, 
liberty,  and  property  are  rendered  totally 
insecure."  The  object  of  holding  the  con 
gress, —  as  expressed  in  the  resolution  of 
the  convention  of  delegates  in  Virginia, 
by  which  Washington  and  his  associates 
were  elected,  —  was  declared  to  be,  "  to 
consider  the  most  proper  and  effectual 
manner  of  so  operating  upon  the  com 
mercial  connection  of  the  colonies  with 
the  mother-country,  as  to  procure  re 
dress  for  the  much  injured  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  secure  British 
America  from  the  ravage  and  ruin  of 
arbitrary  taxes,  and  speedily  to  procure 
the  return  of  that  harmony  and  union, 
so  beneficent  to  the  whole  empire,  and 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  99 

so   ardently  desired  by   all  British  Amer 
ica." 

The  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia  on 
the  5th  of  September.  Washington's  let 
ter  to  Captain  Mackenzie  was  written  on 
the  9th  of  October,  and  the  petition  to 
the  King,  which  closes  the  journal  of  the 
session,  terminates  with  the  following  loy 
al  aspirations:  "That  your  Majesty  may 
enjoy  every  felicity,  through  a  long  and 
glorious  reign,  over  loyal  and  happy  sub 
jects,  and  that  your  descendants  may 
inherit  your  prosperity  and  your  domin 
ions,  till  time  shall  be  no  more,  is,  and 
always  will  be,  our  sincere  and  fervent 
prayer ! " 

Before  we  enter  upon  a  brief  survey 
of  the  career  of  Washington,  as  the  great 
military  leader  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion,  we  cannot  but  reflect  upon  the 
adaptation  of  the  first  portion  of  his  life, 
as  a  school  of  preparation  for  the  sequel. 


100  THE  LIFE   OF 

His  great  vocation  may  be  considered  as 
commencing  with  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  was  the  providentially  appointed  lead 
er  of  that  great  contest,  whose  results, 
direct  and  remote,  are  of  equal  moment 
to  the  Old  World  and  the  New.  We  can 
scarcely  imagine  a  course  of  life  better 
fitted  to  train  him  for  his  arduous  work 
than  that  which  he  led  from  the  age  of 
sixteen,  when  he  entered  the  wilderness 
as  a  surveyor  of  unsettled  lands,  to  his 
retirement  from  the  army  eleven  years 
afterwards.  In  this  period  he  had  re 
ceived  a  thorough  athletic  training,  and 
had  studied  the  art  of  war,  not  on  the 
blackboard  at  military  schools,  but  in  act 
ual  service,  and  that  of  the  most  perilous 
and  trying  kind,  under  rigid  disciplinari 
ans  of  the  best  school  of  that  day;  for 
Braddock  had  been  selected  for  the  com 
mand,  as  an  experienced  and  thoroughly 
accomplished  officer. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  101 

But  military  command  was  but  one  part 
of  the  career  which  awaited  Washing 
ton.  Almost  all  the  duties  of  government 
centred  in  his  hands,  under  the  ineffi 
cient  administration  of  the  old  congress. 
A  merely  military  education  would  have 
furnished  no  adequate  preparation  for  the 
duties  to  be  performed  by  him.  It  was 
accordingly  a  most  auspicious  circum 
stance  that  from  the  year  1759  to  the 
Kevolution  he  passed  fifteen  years  as  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  where 
he  acquired  a  familiar  knowledge  of  civil 
affairs  and  of  politics.  The  ordinary  leg 
islation  of  a  leading  colonial  government, 
like  that  of  Virginia,  was  no  mean  school 
of  political  experience ;  and  the  state  of 
affairs  at  the  time  was  such  as  to  ex 
pand  and  elevate  the  minds  of  men. 
Everything  was  inspired  with  an  un 
consciously  developed,  but  not  the  less 
stirring  revolutionary  energy  ;  and  many 

9* 


102  THE  LIFE   OF 

of  his  associates  were  men  of  large  views 
and  strenuous  character. 

While  his  public  duties,  civil  and  mili 
tary,  prepared  him,  in  this  way,  for  the 
positions  he  was  to  fill  in  war  and  in 
peace,  the  fifteen  years  which  he  passed 
in  the  personal  management  of  a  large 
landed  estate,  and  the  care  of  an  ample 
fortune,  furnished  abundant  occasion  for 
the  formation  of  the  economical  side  of 
his  character,  and  gave  a  thoroughness 
to  his  administrative  habits,  which  has 
not  been  witnessed  in  the  career  of 
many  very  eminent  public  men  in  Europe 
or  America.  It  will  not  be  easy  to  find 
another  instance  of  a  great  military  and 
political  leader,  who,  to  the  same  degree, 
has  been  equal  to  the  formation  and  ex 
ecution  of  the  boldest  plans,  and  to  the 
control  of  the  most  perplexed  combina 
tions  of  affairs,  and  yet  not  above  the 
most  ordinary  details  of  business,  nor 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  103 

negligent  of  minute  economies.  But  it 
was  precisely  this  union  of  seemingly  in 
consistent  qualities  of  mind  and  character, 
which  was  most  needed  from  the  time 
he  took  command  of  the  Kevolutionary 
Army  to  the  close  of  his  Presidential  ser 
vice. 


104  THE   LIFE   OF 


CHAPTER    V. 

Commencement  of  the  War  —  Lexington  and  Concord  — 
The  Royal  Army  blockaded  in  Boston  —  Washington 
chosen  Commander-in-Chief  by  the  Continental  Con 
gress  JL  Destitute  Condition  of  the  Army  —  Dorchester 
Heights  fortified  in  the  Spring  of  1776  —  Boston  evac 
uated  by  the  Royal  Forces  —  The  War  transferred  to 
New  York —Disastrous  Battle  of  Long  Island  — Wash 
ington  Retreats  through  New  Jersey  to  Philadelphia  — 
Recrosses  the  Delaware  and  surprises  the  Hessians  at 
Trenton  —  Gains  the  Battle  of  Princeton  and  retrieves 
the  Fortune  of  the  Campaign. 

To  do  full  justice  to  the  character  of 
"Washington,  as  the  great  leader  of  the 
American  Ke volution,  would  require  a  de 
tailed  history  of  the  war,  by  which  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  was 
established,  and,  of  consequence,  greatly 
exceed  the  limits  of  this  work.  A  very 
brief  sketch  of  those  events  in  which  he 
was  directly  concerned,  is  all  that  can  be 
attempted. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  105 

It  may  first  be  observed,  that  it  would 
be  unjust  to  "Washington  to  place  his 
military  reputation  on  ordinary  strategi 
cal  grounds.  He  had  an  army  to  call 
into  being,  as  well  as  to  conduct ; 
the  entire  materiel  of  war  to  create  ; 
supplies  to  raise,  without  credit  or  the 
power  of  taxation,  from  a  small  and  scat 
tered  population,  subject  to  separate  state 
governments,  and  not  yet  organized  un 
der  one  efficient  central  authority.  At 
no  period  of  the  war  was  he  supported 
by  a  strong  civil  power,  for  Congress 
acted  only  by  recommendations  addressed 
to  the  states ;  he  was  never  furnished 
with  a  well-supplied  military  chest,  (there 
was  a  moment  in  the  disastrous  campaign 
of  1776,  when  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Morris 
at  Philadelphia,  that  a  hundred  pounds 
would  be  of  great  service  to  him,)  and 
he  never  was  at  the  head  of  what,  at 
the  present  day,  would  be  called  an  effi- 


106  THE  LIFE  OF 

cient  force;  unless  we  except  the  allied 
American  and  French  army  at  Yorktown, 
and  there  he  achieved  a  brilliant  success. 
It  would  of  course  be  unreasonable,  un 
der  these  circumstances,  to  compare  his 
military  operations  with  those  of  the 
great  captains  of  Europe,  who,  in  the 
service  of  rich  and  powerful  governments, 
and  at  the  head  of  immense  bodies  of 
veteran  troops,  with  the  aid  of  expe 
rienced  subalterns  in  every  rank  of  the 
army,  and  with  a  boundless  supply  of 
all  the  materiel  of  war,  gain  the  victories 
which  fill  the  pages  of  history  and  earn 
for  themselves  immortal  fame. 

The  actual  commencement  of  hostilities 
in  the  war  of  the  American  Revolution 
might  be  said  to  be  accidental.  A  series 
of  ill-judged  and  oppressive  measures  on 
the  part  of  the  British  Parliament,  aimed 
principally  at  the  province  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay  (as  it  was  then  called),  had  pro- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  107 

duced  a  great  degree  of  irritation  there, 
in  which  the  other  colonies  cordially  sym 
pathized.  Military  preparations  had  been 
going  on  for  a  year  or  two  in  Massachu 
setts,  and  small  stores  of  powder  and 
arms  had  been  collected.  A  few  field- 
pieces  had  been  procured  at  Concord,  a 
village  lying  about  eighteen  miles  west 
of  Boston ;  and  this  fact  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  General  Gage,  the  royal 
governor  and  commander-in-chief  in  Bos 
ton,  he  despatched  a  considerable  force 
into  the  country,  on  the  night  of  the 
18th  of  April,  1775,  with  the  twofold 
object  of  destroying  the  provincial  stores, 
and,  as  was  supposed,  of  arresting  Han 
cock  and  Adams,  who  had  been  pro 
scribed  by  name,  and  who  were  then  at 
Lexington,  a  village  situated  on  the  road 
to  Concord.  This  rash  movement  brought 
on  a  collision  at  Lexington  and  Concord 
on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  between  the 


108  THE   LIFE   OF 

royal  force  and  the  militia  of  those 
places  and  others  on  the  line  of  march 
and  in  the  vicinity;  blood  was  shed  on 
both  sides ;  the  alarm  spread  with  great 
rapidity  through  the  neighboring  towns; 
and  the  royal  force  was  saved  from  an 
nihilation,  only  by  a  disorderly  and  tu 
multuous  retreat  to  Boston.  Here  they 
were  immediately  blockaded  by  fifteen  or 
twenty  thousand  men  of  the  militia  of 
Massachusetts  and  the  other  New  Eng 
land  colonies,  who,  as  the  news  of 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  spread 
through  the  country,  had  poured  in  from 
every  side.  As  Massachusetts  wras  the 
seat  of  the  war,  the  control  of  this  force 
and  the  conduct  of  the  struggle,  thus 
improvised,  devolved,  by  the  necessity  of 
the  case,  and  by  tacit  understanding,  upon 
the  Provincial  Congress  (as  it  was  called) 
of  that  colony,  —  an  extra-constitutional 
body  called  into  existence  by  the  exi- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  109 

gency  of  the  times,  and  assimilated  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  the  Assembly  organ 
ized  under  the  Colonial  Charter.  Major- 
General  Ward,  of  Massachusetts,  thus  be 
came,  by  acquiescence,  the  comniander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  hastily  assembled 
around  Boston.  The  second  session  of 
the  Continental  Congress  commenced  at 
Philadelphia  about  three  weeks  after  the 
events  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  and 
measures  were  immediately  adopted  for 
recognizing  the  forces  already  concen 
trated  round  Boston,  as  a  Continental 
Army,  and  for  raising  additional  troops 
in  the  other  states. 

Early  in  June,  1775,  the  question  of 
the  appointment  of  a  commander-in-chief 
came  up.  Colonel  Washington,  as  has 
been  seen,  was  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Virginia  to  the  Continental  Congress.  His 
distinguished  services  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War  were  still  freshly  remembered ;  and 
10 


110  THE  LIFE   OF 

he  had  acquired  in  the  intervening  pe 
riod,  in  the  Virginia  Assembly,  a  substan 
tial  reputation  for  prudence,  energy,  and 
practical  wisdom.  Combined  with  this 
reputation,  his  large  fortune,  his  attrac 
tive  and  imposing  personal  appearance 
and  manners,  and  general  weight  of  char 
acter,  gave  him  influence ;  and  motives  of 
patriotic  expediency  inclined  the  dele 
gates  from  Massachusetts,  and  especially 
their  ardent  and  eloquent  leader,  John 
Adams,  afterwards  the  second  President 
of  the  United  States,  to  waive  whatever 
claim  that  colony  might  be  supposed  to 
possess,  and  to  give  their  support  to  the 
accomplished  Virginia  colonel,  as  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  Continental  Armies. 
Washington  was  unanimously  elected ;  and 
in  accepting  the  appointment,  which  he 
did  in  person  in  his  place  in  Congress, 
he  modestly  avowed  his  "  consciousness 
that  his  abilities  and  military  experience 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  Ill 

might  not  be  equal  to  the  extensive  and 
important  trust;"  and  added,  "lest  some 
unlucky  event  should  happen  unfavor 
able  to  my  reputation,  I  beg  it  may  be 
remembered  by  every  gentleman  in  the 
room,  that  I  this  day  declare,  with  the 
utmost  sincerity,  that  I  do  not  think  my 
self  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honored 
with."  The  compensation  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  having,  before  the  elec 
tion,  been  fixed  at  five  hundred  dollars 
per  month,  he  declined  to  accept  any 
salary;  but  stated  that  he  should  keep 
an  exact  account  of  his  expenses,  not 
doubting  that  these  would  be  reimbursed 
to  him  by  Congress.  This  account  is  in 
existence,  wholly  made  out  in  Washing 
ton's  handwriting.  It  has  been  litho 
graphed  in  fac-simile,  and  is  a  document 
of  great  curiosity  and  interest.  Washing 
ton's  commission  passed  Congress  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1775,  the  day  on  which 


112  THE  LIFE   OF 

the  memorable  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was 
fought.  The  news  of  that  battle  reached 
him  on  his  way  to  join  the  army  before 
Boston ;  and  on  learning  that  the  militia 
had  sustained  themselves  gallantly  in  a 
conflict  with  regular  troops,  he  declared 
that  the  cause  of  America  was  safe. 

He  arrived  in  Cambridge,  Massachu 
setts,  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  on  the  fol 
lowing  day  presented  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  army.  His  head-quarters  remained 
at  Cambridge,*  till  the  evacuation  of  Bos 
ton  by  the  royal  forces  on  the  17th  of 
March,  1776.  The  position  of  affairs  was 
one  of  vast  responsibility  and  peril.  The 
country  at  large  was  highly  excited,  and 
expected  that  a  bold  stroke  would  be 
struck  and  decisive  successes  obtained, 
But  the  army  was  without  organization 

*  Washington's  Lead-quarters  at  Cambridge  were  estab 
lished  in  the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Long 
fellow,  then  belonging  to  the  loyalist  family  of  Vassal. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  113 

and  discipline;  the  troops  unused  to 
obey,  the  officers  for  the  most  part  un 
accustomed,  some  of  them  incompetent, 
to  command.  A  few  of  them  only  had 
had  a  limited  experience  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  Most  of  the  men  had  rushed 
to  the  field  on  the  first  alarm  of  hostil 
ities,  without  any  enlistment;  and  when 
they  were  enlisted,  it  was  only  till  the 
end  of  the  year.  There  was  no  military 
chest;  scarce  anything  that  could  be 
called  a  commissariat.  The  artillery  con 
sisted  of  a  few  old  field-pieces  of  various 
sizes,  served  with  a  very  few  exceptions 
by  persons  wholly  untrained  in  gunnery. 
There  was  no  seige  train,  and  an  almost 
total  want  of  every  description  of  ord 
nance  stores.  Barrels  of  sand,  represented 
as  powder,  were  from  time  to  time  brought 
into  the  camp,  to  prevent  the  American 
army  itself  from  being  aware  of  its  defi 
ciency  in  that  respect.  In  the  autumn 
10* 


114  THE  LIFE   OF 

of  1775,  an  alarm  of  small-pox  was 
brought  from  Boston,  and  the  troops 
were  subjected  to  inoculation.  There  was 
no  efficient  power,  either  in  the  Provin 
cial  Assembly  or  the  Congress  at  Phila 
delphia,  by  which  these  wants  could  be 
supplied  and  these  evils  remedied.  Such 
were  the  circumstances  under  which  Gen 
eral  Washington  took  the  field,  at  the 
head  of  a  force  greatly  superior  in  num 
bers  to  the  royal  army,  but  in  all  other 
respects  a  very  unequal  match.  Mean 
time  the  British  were  undisputed  masters 
of  the  approaches  to  Boston  by  water. 

Washington's  letters  disclose  extreme 
impatience  under  the  inaction  to  which 
he  was  condemned;  but  the  gravest  diffi 
culties  attended  the  expulsion  of  the 
royal  forces  from  Boston.  It  could  only 
be  effected  by  the  bombardment  and  as 
sault  of  that  place ;  an  attempt  which 
must  in  any  event  have  been  destruc- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  115 

tive  to  the  large  non-combatant  popula 
tion,  that  had  been  unable  to  remove 
into  the  country,  and  which  would  have 
been  of  doubtful  success,  for  the  want  of 
a  siege  train,  and  with  troops  wholly 
unused  to  such  an  undertaking.  Hav 
ing  in  the  course  of  the  year  received 
some  captured  ordnance  from  Canada, 
and  a  supply  of  ammunition  taken 
by  privateers  at  sea,  Washington  was 
strongly  disposed  to  assault  the  town,  as 
soon  as  the  freezing  of  the  bay  on  the 
western  side  of  the  peninsula  would  al 
low  the  troops  to  pass  on  the  ice.  The 
winter,  however,  remained  open  longer 
than  usual,  and  a  council  of  war  dis 
suaded  this  attempt.  He  then  determined 
to  occupy  Nook's  Hill,  (an  eminence  at 
the  extremity  of  Dorchester  "  Neck,"  as 
it  was  called,  separated  from  Boston  by 
a  narrow  arm  of  the  harbor,)  and  Dor 
chester  Heights,  which  commanded  Nook's 


116  THE  LIFE   OF 

Hill  and  the  town  itself.     In  this  way  the 
royal  forces  would   be   compelled  to   take 
the  risk  of  a  general  action,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  dislodging  the  Americans,  or  else 
to  evacuate  the  town.     The  requisite  prep 
arations  having  been  made  with  secrecy, 
energy,   and    despatch,    the    heights   were 
covered    with    breastworks    on    the    night 
of  the   4th    of  March,   1776,  as  "by  en 
chantment."     A  partial  movement,  under 
taken  by  the   royal   army  to  dislodge  the 
Americans,    was    frustrated    by   stress    of 
weather;   and   on   the    17th   of  March,   in 
virtue    of    an    agreement    to    that    effect 
with  the  municipal  government,  the  town 
and  harbor  of  Boston  were  evacuated  by 
the  British  army  and  navy  without  firing 
a  gun.     Thus,  without  a  battle   and  with 
out  the  destruction  of  a  building  in  Bos 
ton,  the  first  year  of  the  war  was  brought 
to  a  successful  and  an  auspicious  close. 
The  British  army  under  General  Howe, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  117 

after  evacuating  Boston,  sailed  for  Hali 
fax  ;  but  in  the  course  of  the  summer  a 
general  concentration  of  the  royal  forces 
took  place  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York, 
Staten  Island  being  the  head-quarters. 
There  the  landing  of  the  British  was 
effected,  on  the  same  day  on  which  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  was 
declared  at  Philadelphia.  General  Howe 
was  reinforced  at  Staten  Island  by  the 
troops  under  Clinton  and  Cornwallis,  who 
had  been  despatched  to  the  South,  and 
who  had  been  repulsed  in  an  attack 
upon  Sullivan's  Island,  which  was  defend 
ed  with  signal  valor  and  success  by  Gen 
eral  Moultrie.  A  naval  armament,  with  a 
large  reinforcement  of  German  merce 
naries,  also  arrived  at  New  York  under 
Lord  Howe,  (the  brother  of  the  general,) 
who  was  clothed  with  full  powers  as  a 
commissioner,  and  who  brought  unavail 
ing  overtures  for  pacification.  These  he 


118  THE  LIFE   OF 

addressed,  at  first,  to  "George  Washington, 
Esq.;"  afterwards,  with  melancholy  perti 
nacity,  but  equal  want  of  success,  enlarg 
ing  the  superscription  with  a  thrice  re 
peated  '  et  cetera.  No  man  could  care  less 
than  Washington  for  the  empty  parade 
of  titles,  but  he  did  not  of  course  choose 
to  acquiesce  in  the  intentional  refusal  to 
recognize  him  in  the  only  capacity,  in 
which  Lord  Howe  was  warranted  to  com 
municate  with  him  at  all. 

By  the  several  accessions  alluded  to, 
the  British  army  was  swelled  to  between 
twenty-five  and  thirty  thousand  well-ap 
pointed  troops.  The  American  army,  in 
the  aggregate,  was  numerically  of  almost 
equal  size,  but  reduced  by  sickness,  de 
tachment,  and  absence  on  leave,  to  about 
eleven  thousand  men,  fit  for  duty;  and 
those  not  to  be  compared  with  efficient 
veteran  soldiers.  It  was  necessary  that  this 
small  army  should  be  widely  distributed. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  119 

A  considerable  force  was  stationed  at 
Brooklyn  on  Long  Island,  and  the  resi 
due  at  various  posts  and  forts  on  New 
York  Island  and  the  North  and  East 
Eivers.  The  head-quarters  were  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  General  Greene  com 
manded  on  Long  Island ;  but  this  able 
officer  falling  ill,  his  place  was  taken  by 
General  Sullivan.  The  enemy  began  to 
land  detachments  of  troops  on  Long  Isl 
and  on  the  22d  of  August,  but  it  re 
mained  uncertain  for  some  days  where 
he  would  strike  the  main  blow.  On  the 
25th,  General  Putnam  was  ordered  with  a 
strong  reinforcement  to  Brooklyn,  where 
the  following  day  was  spent  by  the  Com 
mander-in-chief,  in  the  necessary  arrange 
ments  for  the  expected  battle.  On  the 
27th,  a  general  action  was  fought,  with 
greatly  superior  forces  on  the  part  of 
the  enemy.  The  Americans  were  defeat 
ed  with  heavy  loss,  Generals  Sullivan 


120  THE   LIFE   OF 

and  Lord  Stirling  being   among  the  pris 
oners. 

General  Howe  encamped  for  the  night 
in  front  of  the  position  of  the  Americans, 
expecting  no  doubt  to  follow  up  his  suc 
cess  the  next  day  by  their  total  rout. 
He  probably  overrated  their  strength ;  the 
day  was  rainy,  and  no  forward  move 
ment  was  made  by  the  British  army  on 
the  28th.  In  the  course  of  that  day  an 
activity  prevailed  on  Staten  Island,  which 
was  thought  to  threaten  an  attempt  on 
the  city ;  and  during  the  night,  under 
cover  of  a  dense  fog,  a  masterly  re 
treat,  conducted  by  General  Washington 
in  person,  was  commenced,  and  before 
morning  the  entire  American  force  on 
Long  Island  was  brought  off  in  safety. 
The  battle  of  Long  Island  was  one  of 
the  most  disastrous  events  of  the  war ; 
and  the  undiscovered  retreat  of  the 
troops,  within  hearing  of  the  hostile  sen- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  121 

tries,  one  of  its  most  brilliant  achieve 
ments.  On  these  two  eventful  days  Wash 
ington  was  for  nearly  forty-eight  hours  in 
the  saddle,  during  which  he  did  not  close 
his  eyes. 

The  greatly  superior  numbers  of  the 
royal  army,  and  the  control  of  the  wa 
ters  on  which  New  York  stands,  com 
pelled  the  retreat  of  the  Americans,  suc 
cessively  from  the  city  and  island  of 
New  York;  and  at  the  close  of  October, 
Washington  occupied  an  intrenched  camp 
at  White  Plains,  a  strong  position  about 
midway  between  the  Hudson  and  East 
River.  Here  a  pretty  severe  but  partial 
action  took  place,  which  resulted  favor 
ably  to  the  British.  A  general  engage 
ment  seemed  in  prospect ;  but  Sir  William 
Howe  (lately  decorated  with  the  order 
of  the  Bath)  thought  the  position  of 
Washington,  who  had  withdrawn  to  high 
er  ground,  too  strong  to  be  forced,  and 
11 


122  THE  LIFE   OF 

concentrated  his  own  troops  at  Harlem 
and  on  the  Hudson,  with  the  evident  de 
sign  of  crossing  into  New  Jersey,  and 
marching  on  Philadelphia.  To  anticipate 
this  movement  Washington,  after  despatch 
ing  Heath  with  a  detachment  to  hold  the 
Highlands,  and  leaving  Lee  in  command 
near  White  Plains,  crossed  into  New  Jer 
sey  with  the  troops  belonging  to  the 
states  west  of  the  Hudson.  Lee,  in 
whose  military  capacity  and  fidelity  to 
the  American  cause  too  much  confidence 
was  reposed,  was  directed  to  remain  at 
White  Plains,  or  to  follow  the  Command 
er-in-chief,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  service 
might  require. 

Fort  Washington,  a  strong  post  on  the 
Hudson,  commanded  by  Colonel  Magaw, 
was  immediately  invested  by  the  British, 
and  the  garrison,  amounting  to  over  three 
thousand  men,  capitulated.  This  was  an 
other  most  disastrous  blow  to  the  Amer- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  123 

ican  cause.  Lord  Cornwallis  was  imme 
diately  despatched  into  New  Jersey  with 
six  thousand  men;  and,  to  prevent  Sir 
William  Howe  from  marching  on  Phila 
delphia  with  his  entire  army,  Washington 
was  compelled  to  retreat  from  river  to 
river  through  that  state.  His  numbers 
were  much  reduced  by  the  loss  of  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Washington,  by  the  de 
tachment  of  Heath  to  the  Highlands,  and 
the  unpardonable  tardiness  of  Lee  in 
obeying  the  repeated  orders  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  to  join  the  main  body  of 
the  army.  The  further  pernicious  effects 
of  his  insubordination  were  prevented, 
after  his  arrival  at  Morristown,  in  New 
Jersey,  by  his  surprise  and  capture,  in 
the  night,  by  a  party  of  the  enemy  who 
had  received  a  hint  of  his  whereabout. 
This  event,  discreditable  to  himself,  was 
hardly  to  be  regretted  by  Washington, 
whom  he  was  secretly  plotting  to  under- 


124  THE   LIFE    OF 

mine,  and  whom  he  omitted  no  opportu 
nity  to  disparage.  The  Commander-in-chief 
crossed  the  Delaware  Eiver  with  barely 
four  thousand  troops.  He  was  soon  joined 
by  other  detachments  of  the  army,  but 
was  in  no  condition  to  defend  Philadel 
phia,  if  Sir  William  Howe,  at  the  head 
of  a  large  and  well-appointed  army, 
should,  as  soon  as  the  Delaware  was  fro 
zen,  cross  the  ice,  and  attempt  the  city 
by  assault. 

The  state  and  prospects  of  the  Ameri 
can  Army  and  cause  were  at  this  time 
more  gloomy  than  at  any  other  period 
of  the  war.  The  army,  feeble  and  poorly 
provided  at  best,  was  on  the  point  of 
dissolution  by  the  expiration  of  its  term 
of  enlistment.  The  year  1776  and  the 
campaign  were  closing  amidst  universal 
despondency.  Washington  almost  alone 
remained  unshaken ;  and,  on  one  occasion, 
declared  that  if  the  enemy  succeeded  in 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  125 

obtaining  possession  of  the  whole  of  the 
Atlantic  states,  he  would  retreat  behind 
the  Alleghanies,  and  bid  them  defiance 
there.  But  it  was  precisely  at  this  junc 
ture  that  he  struck  the  boldest  stroke 
of  the  war,  and,  in  less  than  two  weeks, 
not  only  changed  the  entire  face  of  af 
fairs,  and  retrieved  the  fortunes  of  the 
campaign,  but  established  his  own  repu 
tation  as  a  consummate  chieftain. 

A  detachment  of  the  royal  army,  con 
sisting  principally  of  the  Hessian  merce 
naries,  but  with  a  squadron  of  British 
dragoons,  had  been  pushed  to  the  Dela 
ware  River,  and  occupied  Trenton.  Small 
er  bodies  of  royal  troops  were  stationed 
at  other  points  down  the  river ;  a  still 
larger  force  was  posted  at  Brunswick. 
Washington  conceived  the  plan  of  cross 
ing  the  Delaware,  and  surprising  the  Hes 
sians  at  Trenton,  and  the  other  corps  at 

Burlington  and  Bordentown.     This  was  to 
11* 


126  THE  LIFE   OF 

be  effected  by  dividing  his  own  small 
force  into  three  parties,  which  should 
pass  the  river  above  and  below  Trenton, 
headed  respectively  by  himself,  Cadwal- 
ader,  and  Ewing.  On  the  night  of  the 
25th  of  December,  when  the  Delaware,  a 
broad  and  rapid  stream,  was  filled  with 
floating  ice,  under  a  driving  storm  alter 
nately  of  snow,  rain,  and  sleet,  and  with 
the  weather  so  cold  that  two  of  his  men 
froze  to  death  by  the  way,  his  own  part 
of  the  movement  was  successfully  accom 
plished.  Trenton  was  surprised  by  him 
about  8  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and  after 
a  brief  action,  with  nominal  loss  to  the 
Americans,  a  thousand  Hessians  were  tak 
en  prisoners,  —  their  commander,  Colonel 
Eahl,  being  killed.  The  dragoons  escaped 
down  the  river;  and,  owing  to  the  impos 
sibility  of  crossing  it, — the  masses  of  drift- 
ice  having  become  too  fixed  for  the  boats 
to  pass  through,  —  the  other  portions  of 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  127 

the  plan  failed.  Washington  recrossed 
the  Delaware  in  safety  with  his  prison 
ers,  who  were  nearly  half  as  numer 
ous  as  his  own  detachment,  and,  after 
an  interval  of  two  or  three  days,  returned 
with  his  disposable  force  to  the  left  bank 
of  the  river  to  resume  the  offensive. 

Lord  Cornwallis,  who  was  on  the  eve 
of  sailing  for  England,  considering  the 
campaign  as  closed,  was  detained  by  Sir 
William  Howe,  and  sent  in  haste  to 
Trenton,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  Wash 
ington.  The  latter,  who  had  stationed 
himself  behind  the  Assanpink,  knowing 
the  great  inferiority  of  his  force,  de 
camped  in  the  night  from  the  bank  of 
that  river,  and,  forcing  a  march  on  Prince 
ton,  surprised  a  detachment  of  the  royal 
army  which  was  on  the  way  to  reinforce 
Cornwallis  at  Trenton.  A  sharp  action 
ensued,  in  which  Washington,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  informed  Colonel  Trum- 


128  THE   LIFE   OF 

bull,  who  painted  a  picture  of  the  scene, 
that  he  was  in  greater  personal  danger 
than  on  any  other  occasion  in  his  life, 
not  excepting  Braddock's  defeat.  The 
royal  force  was  defeated  with  great  loss 
both  in  killed  and  prisoners.  Many  also 
fell  on  the  American  side;  among  them 
the  gallant  and  lamented  Mercer. 

By  these  bold  and  successful  opera 
tions,  the  fortune  of  the  war  was  com 
pletely  reversed.  All  thoughts  of  moving 
on  Philadelphia  were  for  the  present 
abandoned  by  Sir  William  Howe,  and  he 
confined  himself  for  the  rest  of  the  win 
ter  to  the  positions  occupied  by  his 
troops  at  New  York,  Amboy,  and  Bruns 
wick.  General  Washington  went  into  win 
ter-quarters  at  Morristown,  and  the  au 
thority  of  Congress  was  restored  through 
out  New  Je-rsey,  except  in  the  places  in 
the  actual  occupation  of  the  British  troops. 
These  brilliant  results,  achieved  at  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  129 

moment  of  accumulated  disaster  and  al 
most  of  despair,  revived  the  confidence 
of  the  country,  and  earned  for  Washing 
ton  a  brilliant  reputation  as  a  strategist 
in  the  estimation  of  Europe. 


130  THE  LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Campaign  of  1777 — Sir  William  Howe  sails  from  Staten 
Island  and  ascends  the  Chesapeake  —  The  Battle  of 
Brandy  wine  adverse  to  the  Americans — Sir  W.  Howe 
occupies  Philadelphia  —  Battle  of  Germantown  —  Ca 
pitulation  of  Burgoyne  —  Washington  in  Winter-Quar 
ters  at  Valley  Forge  —  The  Gates  and  Con  way  Cabal 
—  Forged  Letters — Campaign  of  1778  —  The  French 
Alliance  —  Sir  W.  Howe  evacuates  Philadelphia  —  Bat 
tle  of  Monmouth  —  Lee  sentenced  by  a  Court-Martial, 
and  leaves  the  Army  —  The  Count  d'Estaing  with  a 
French  Fleet  arrives  in  the  American  Waters — Cam 
paign  of  1779  —  No  general  Operation  of  the  Main 
Body — Campaign  of  1780  —  Arrival  of  the  First  Divis 
ion  of  the  French  Army  under  Rochambeau  —  Trea 
son  of  Arnold  —  Fate  of  Andre  —  Campaign  of  1781  — 
Arrival  of  Count  de  Grasse  with  Reinforcements  —  Ca 
pitulation  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  —  Negotiations  for 
Peace  —  Provisional  Articles  signed  November,  1782  — 
Discontents  in  the  American  Army  —  The  Newburg 
Address  —  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace  —  Washington  re 
signs  his  Commission  to  the  Congress  at  Annapolis,  23d 
December,  1783. 

WITH   the   opening   of  the  campaign  of 
1777,  Sir  William  Howe,  at  the   head   of 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  131 

a  vastly  superior  force,  in  vain  endeav 
ored  to  draw  Washington  into  a  general 
engagement.  Burgoyne  entered  Canada, 
and  the  American  commander  was  for 
some  time  at  a  loss  what  might  be  Sir 
William's  ulterior  plan  of  operations.  It 
soon  appeared  that  Philadelphia  was  his 
object  j  but  not  deeming  it  safe  to  march 
through  New  Jersey  with  the  American 
army  on  his  flanks  and  rear,  Sir  William 
hastily  embarked  his  troops  at  Staten 
Island,  and  went  round  by  sea  to  Chesa 
peake  Bay.  As  soon  as  the  news  reached 
Washington  that  the  royal  fleet  was  seen 
at  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware,  he  moved 
on  Germantown,  and  thence  to  Chester. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Lafayette  was 
introduced  to  the  Commander-in-chief;  and 
notwithstanding  the  caution  with  which 
foreigners  were  necessarily  received,  he 
was  immediately  taken  into  the  confi 
dence  of  Washington,  which  he  justly 


132  THE   LIFE   OF 

retained  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Serving 
as  the  medium  of  communication  between 
the  two  countries,  and  possessing  influ 
ence  with  both,  the  connection  of  Lafay 
ette  with  the  American  Eevolution  con 
tributed  materially  to  its  successful  issue. 
Sir  William  Howe  ascended  the  Chesa 
peake  Bay,  and  landed  his  army  at  the 
Head  of  Elk.  Washington  met  him  on 
the  Brandywine  with  inferior  numbers, 
and  after  a  severe  action,  September 
llth,  in  which  Lafayette  was  wounded, 
the  Americans  were  compelled  to  retreat. 
Notwithstanding  this  reverse,  Washington 
succeeded,  for  eight  or  ten  days,  by  skil 
ful  manoeuvring  and  avoiding  a  general 
action,  in  keeping  the  royal  army  occu 
pied  ;  nor  was  it  till  the  22d  of  Septem 
ber  that  Sir  William  Howe  was  able  to 
enter  Philadelphia.  A  considerable  detach 
ment  of  his  forces  was  stationed  at  Ger- 
mantown.  Washington,  notwithstanding 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  133 

the  suffering  condition  of  his  army,  after 
a  forced  night  march  of  seventeen  miles, 
on  the  4th  of  October,  attacked  the  royal 
troops  at  German  town, — and  at  first  with 
decided  success.  The  fortune  of  the  day, 
in  consequence  of  untoward  circumstances, 
turned  against  him ;  but  the  fact  that  he 
was  able  so  soon  to  resume  the  offensive, 
was  regarded,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
as  a  proof  of  his  unbroken  spirit,  and  was 
so  spoken  of  by  the  Count  de  Vergennes, 
in  his  communications  with  the  American 
commissioners  at  Paris. 

In  the  meantime  the  success  of  Stark 
at  Bennington  in  Vermont,  on  the  16th 
of  August,  had  been  followed  by  the 
capitulation  of  the  army  of  Burgoyne  at 
Saratoga,  which  took  place  a  few  days 
after  the  affair  at  Germantown.  This 
capitulation  was  an  all-important  event  in 
its  influence  on  the  progress  of  the  war; 
but  its  immediate  effect  was  unpropitious 


134  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  the  reputation  of  the  Commander-in- 
chief,  who  was  compelled,  at  the  close  of 
the  year,  to  place  his  army  in  a  state 
of  almost  total  destitution  in  winter-quar 
ters  at  Valley  Forge.  The  brilliant  suc 
cess  of  General  Gates  at  Saratoga,  in 
contrast  with  the  reverses  which  had 
befallen  the  American  Army  under  the 
immediate  command  of  Washington,  en 
couraged  the  operations  of  a  cabal  against 
him,  which  had  been  formed  by  certain 
disaffected  officers  of  the  army,  and  was 
countenanced  by  a  party  in  Congress. 
The  design  was,  by  a  succession  of  meas 
ures  implying  a  want  of  confidence,  to 
drive  Washington  to  retire  from  the  ser 
vice  in  disgust;  and,  when  this  object  was 
effected,  to  give  the  command  of  the 
army  to  General  Gates,  who  lent  a  will 
ing  ear  to  these  discreditable  intrigues. 
A  foreign  officer  in  the  American  Army, 
of  the  name  of  Conway,  was  the  most 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  135 

active  promoter  of  the  project,  which  was 
discovered  by  the  accidental  disclosure  of 
a  part  of  his  correspondence  with  Gates. 
Washington  bore  himself  on  this  occasion 
with  his  usual  dignity,  and  allowed  the 
parties  concerned,  in  the  army  and  in 
Congress,  to  take  refuge  in  explanations, 
disclaimers,  and  apologies,  by  which  those 
who  made  them  gained  no  credit,  and 
those  who  accepted  them  were  not  de 
ceived. 

A  part  of  the  machinery  of  this  wretch 
ed  cabal  was  the  publication,  in  London, 
and  the  republication  in  New  York,  of 
the  collection  of  forged  letters  already 
mentioned,  bearing  the  name  of  Washing 
ton,  and  intended  to  prove  his  insincerity 
in  the  cause  of  the  Kevolution.  Nothing 
perhaps  more  plainly  illustrates  his  con 
scious  strength  of  character,  than  the  dis 
dainful  silence  with  which  he  allowed  this 
miserable  fabrication  to  remain  for  twenty 


136  THE   LIFE    OF 

years  without  exposure.  It  was  only  in 
the  year  1796,  and  when  about  to  retire 
from  the  Presidency,  that  he  filed,  in  the 
department  of  State,  a  denial  of  its  au 
thenticity. 

The  year  1778  was  one  of  great  mo 
ment.  Early  in  May,  intelligence  was  re 
ceived  by  Congress  (which  sat  at  York- 
town,  in  Pennsylvania,  during  the  occu 
pation  of  Philadelphia  by  Sir  William 
Howe)  that  tfre  American  commissioners 
in  Paris  had  negotiated  treaties  of  alliance 
and  commerce  with  France.  It  would  be 
easy  to  prove,  from  the  diplomatic  corre 
spondence  of  the  day,  that  whatever  credit 
is  due  to  the  skill  with  which  the  nego 
tiations  at  Paris  were  conducted  by  Frank 
lin,  the  confidence  reposed  by  the  French 
government  in  the  character  of  Washing 
ton  was  a  very  great  inducement  for  haz 
arding  a  step  which  involved,  as  its  first 
consequence,  a  war  with  Great  Britain. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  137 

Sir  William  Howe  had  gained  nothing 
by  the  campaign  of  1777,  though  it  had 
resulted  in  the  temporary  possession  of 
Philadelphia.  The  occupation  of  that  city 
was  barren  of  results;  the  ministry  were 
dissatisfied  with  his  conduct  of  the  war, 
and  he  resigned  his  command.  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  was  appointed  in  his  place ;  and 
an  expedition  against  the  French  posses 
sions  in  the  West  Indies  being  deter 
mined  upon  by  the  ministry,  a  strong 
force  was  detached  for  that  purpose  from 
the  royal  army  in  America.  The  evacu 
ation  of  Philadelphia,  after  eight  months' 
occupation,  was  the  first  step  in  the  new 
plan  of  campaign.  Having  shipped  his 
cavalry,  his  German  troops,  the  American 
loyalists,  and  his  heavy  baggage,  to  go 
round  by  sea,  Sir  Henry  marched  for  New 
York  with  the  main  body  of  his  troops, 
across  New  Jersey.  Washington  immedi 
ately  started  with  his  newly  organized 

12* 


138  THE   LIFE   OF 

army  in  pursuit,  and  in  six  days  was  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Delaware.  He  was 
desirous  of  bringing  the  royal  army  to  a 
general  engagement ;  but  the  council  of 
war  called  by  him  was  divided  on  the 
expediency  of  the  measure.  General  Lee, 
who  had  been  exchanged  for  the  British 
General  Prescott  and  was  now  second  in 
command,  vehemently  opposed  it.  Wash 
ington,  however,  determined  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  the  measure ;  and  hav 
ing  overtaken  Sir  Henry  near  Monmouth, 
sent  forward  Lafayette,  and  afterwards 
Lee,  with  a  strong  advance,  to  engage 
the  royal  army.  Hastening  himself  to 
their  support,  he  encountered  Lee  in  full 
retreat  at  the  head  of  five  thousand  men. 
This  retrograde  movement  was  arrested 
by  Washington,  and  the  engagement  vig 
orously  renewed.  The  close  of  the  day 
put  an  end  to  the  conflict ;  but  Washing 
ton  passed  the  night  with  his  army  on 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  139 

the  field,  determined  to  renew  the  action 
the  following  morning.  Sir  Henry,  how 
ever,  continued  his  march,  undiscovered, 
during  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  was 
out  of  reach.  This  engagement,  though 
hardly  to  be  called  a  victory,  was  a  de 
cided  advantage  on  the  part  of  Washing 
ton.  In  his  own  words,  "from  an  unfor 
tunate  and  bad  beginning,  it  turned  out 
a  glorious  and  happy  day."  His  loss  was 
far  inferior  to  that  acknowledged  by  Sir 
Henry  Clinton.  The  British  army  pur 
sued  its  march  to  New  York,  and  Wash 
ington,  crossing  the  Hudson,  resumed  his 
former  position  at  White  Plains. 

The  day  after  the  battle  of  Monmouth, 
a  correspondence  took  place  between  Lee 
and  Washington,  which  resulted  in  the 
trial  of  the  former  by  a  courtrmartial. 
The  charges  were  disobedience  of  orders, 
an  unnecessary,  disorderly,  and  shameful 
retreat,  and  language  disrespectful  to  the 


140  THE  LIFE    OF 

Commander-in-chief.  The  court  spared 
him  the  epithet  of  "shameful;"  but 
found  him  guilty  of  the  rest  of  the 
charges,  and  suspended  him  from  his 
command  for  a  twelvemonth.  He  left 
the  army  never  to  return,  and  died  be 
fore  the  close  of  the  war,  at  Philadelphia. 
Washington's  heroic  patience  was  never 
more  signally  displayed  than  in  toler 
ating  as  he  did,  from  public  motives,  for 
three  years,  the  arrogant  pretensions  of 
this  coarse  and  empty  braggart,  whom 
recent  discoveries  have  proved  also  to 
have  been  a  concealed  traitor  to  the 
American  cause.* 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  the  Count 
d'Estaing,  with  fourteen  sail  of  the  line, 
arrived  in  the  American  waters,  and  a 
combined  expedition  was  undertaken,  but 

*  The  Treason  of  Lee  is  placed  beyond  doubt,  and 
the  original  documents  establishing  it  are  published  in 
the  recent  highly  valuable  monograph  of  G.  II.  More, 
Esq.,  on  that  subject. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  141 

without  success,  against  the  royal  forces 
in  Newport.  Causes  of  dissatisfaction  arose 
between  the  American  officers  in  command 
in  Ehode  Island  and  the  Count  d'Estaing, 
— but  the  mediating  influence  of  Washing 
ton  was  exerted,  with  consummate  skill, 
to  avert  the  consequences.  His  head 
quarters  were  established  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  in  New  York,  about  thirty  miles 
from  West  Point,  and  the  campaign  closed 
without  further  events  of  importance. 

The  year  1779  passed  without  any 
general  engagement  of  the  main  army 
of  Washington.  A  very  extensive  expe 
dition  against  Canada  had  been  projected 
in  Congress;  but  it  was  not  favored  by 
the  French  government,  and  was  wholly 
discountenanced  by  Washington.  The 
summer  was  employed  by  the  British 
army  in  predatory  excursions.  On  the 
American  side,  a  brilliant  success  was 
gained  by  General  Wayne  at  Stony 


142  THE  LIFE   OF 

Point.     The    British   fleet   followed   Count 
d'Estaing  to  the  West   Indies.     Sir  Henry 
Clinton   sailed   with    a   strong   detachment 
to   the   Southern   States-  and  at  the  close 
of  the  season  the  army  of  General  Wash 
ington  went  into  winter-quarters.     In   the 
course   of  the  year   a   visit  was   made   to 
the  Commander-in-chief,  at  his  head-quar 
ters,  by  M.   Gerard,  the   French   Minister, 
who,  in  his  report   of  their   conference  to 
the  Count  de  Vergennes,  uses   the  folloAv- 
ing  language :  "  I  have  had  many  conver 
sations    with    General    Washington,    some 
of  which  have  continued  for  three  hours. 
It   is   impossible    for   me    briefly   to    com 
municate   the    fund    of  intelligence   which 
I    have   derived    from    him.      .      .     I  will 
now    say    only,    that    I    have    formed    as 
high    an    opinion    of   the    powers    of    his 
mind,  his   moderation,   his   patriotism,  and 
his    virtues,    as    I    had    before    conceived, 
from   common   report,   of  his   military  tal- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  143 

ent,  and  of  the  incalculable  services  which 
he  has  rendered  his  country." 

Before  the  end  of  April,  1780,  Lafay 
ette  returned  to  the  United  States  from 
France,  with  the  news  that  an  auxiliary 
army  would  be  despatched  to  the  assist 
ance  of  the  Americans.  On  the  10th  of 
July,  the  first  division  of  the  French 
fleet  arrived  at  Newport,  under  the  Chev 
alier  de  Ternay,  having  on  board  an 
army  of  five  thousand  men,  commanded 
by  the  Count  de  Eochambeau.  A  second 
division  was  to  follow,  but  was  blockaded 
at  Brest.  The  superiority  both  by  land 
and  by  sea  accordingly  remained  on  the 
side  of  the  British,  by  whom  Count  de 
Rochambeau's  army  was  blockaded  in 
Newport.  In  consequence  of  this  state 
of  things,  no  expedition  of  magnitude 
was  attempted  by  the  allies  in  the  course 
of  the  year  1780. 

It    was    during    the   absence    of  Wash- 


144  THE  LIFE  OF 

ington  at  Hartford,  to  confer  with  the 
Count  de  Rochambeau,  on  a  plan  of 
operations  for  the  ensuing  campaign,  that 
the  treason  of  Arnold  was  discovered, 
and  the  arrest  and  execution  of  the  un 
fortunate  Major  Andre  took  place.  It 
would  exceed  the  limits  of  these  pages  to 
enter  into  a  narrative  of  this  event,  or 
to  engage  in  the  defence  of  Washington, 
against  the  reproaches  cast  upon  him,  for 
approving  the  sentence  of  the  court  by 
which  the  case  was  adjudicated.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  this  unfortunate  of 
ficer  was  condemned  as  a  spy  by  a  court 
of  thirteen  officers  native  and  foreign, 
some  of  them  the  most  intelligent  in  the 
service.  Those  who  condemn  Washington 
for  not  placing  his  veto  on  their  sentence, 
should  ask  themselves,  what  would  prob 
ably  have  been  the  fate  of  an  English 
officer,  who  should  have  been  discovered 
in  citizen's  dress,  within  the  lines  of  the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  145 

French  army  at  Boulogne  in  1803;  or  of 
a  French  officer  who,  under  similar  cir 
cumstances,  should  have  been  caught 
within  the  English  lines  at  Gibraltar,  in 
time  of  war,  plotting  with  a  traitor  for 
the  surrender  of  an  important  post.  It 
may  be  doubted  whether  retribution,  in 
either  case,  would  have  awaited  the  slow 
motions  of  a  court.  Andre's  execution  as 
a  spy  has  been  condemned  on  the  ground 
that,  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  he  had  a 
free  pass  from  an  American  general,  as 
if  it  were  an  apology  for  a  spy,  that  he 
was  in  conspiracy  with  a  traitor.  Imper 
fectly  as  the  law  of  nations  was  devel 
oped  in  antiquity,  it  placed  a  secret  con 
ference  with  the  enemy  on  a  level  with 
treason.  Cicero,  speaking  in  the  person 
of  Cato,  classes  together  "  Patriae  prodi- 
tiones,  rerumpublicarum  eversiones,  clan- 
destina  cum  hostibus  colloqida"  Personally 
General  Washington  was  the  most  hu- 

13 


146  THE  LIFE  OF 

mane  of  men;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
it  cost  him  a  painful  struggle  with  his 
feelings,  to  allow  the  sentence  of  the 
court  to  be  executed  on  the  accom 
plished  prisoner.  But  with  respect  to 
him,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say, 
that  there  was  nothing  in  his  errand, 
to  increase  the  respect  and  sympathy, 
inspired  by  his  personal  qualities  and 
unhappy  fate. 

But  the  great  struggle  was  drawing  to 
a  close  more  rapidly  than  was  anticipated. 
The  year  1781  witnessed  the  last  military 
operations  of  decided  importance.  The 
Count  de  Grasse  having  arrived  in  the 
Chesapeake  from  the  West  Indies  with  a 
commanding  fleet  and  a  considerable  re 
inforcement  of  troops,  Washington  and 
Eochambeau  immediately  marched  from 
the  Hudson  to  Virginia,  to  join  forces 
with  Lafayette,  who  was  stationed  at 
Williamsburg  to  watch  the  movements 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  147 

of  Lord  Cornwallis.  On  the  approach  of 
the  combined  French  and  American  ar 
mies,  Lord  Cornwallis  intrenched  him 
self  at  Yorktown.  That  place  was  in 
vested  in  form  on  the  30th  of  Septem 
ber  by  the  allied  army.  The  outposts 
were  in  a  few  days  carried  by  assault; 
and  on  the  19th  of  October  the  army 
of  Cornwallis,  rather  more  than  seven 
thousand  strong,  capitulated  to  the  unit 
ed  and  greatly  superior  forces  of  the 
allies. 

This  brilliant  success  put  an  end  to  the 
contest,  and  General  Washington  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  war  brought  to 
a  close,  under  his  own  immediate  auspices 
and  command.  Negotiations  for  peace 
commenced  at  Paris  in  the  summer  of 
1782,  and  the  articles  of  a  provisional 
treaty  were  signed  in  November  of  that 
year.  Attempts  were  made  by  further 
negotiation,  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 


148  THE    LIFE    OF 

year,  to  enlarge  the  stipulations  agreed 
upon,  but  the  definitive  treaty  was  eveni> 
ually  signed  at  Paris  on  the  3d  of  Sep 
tember,  1783,  in  the  words  of  the  pro 
visional  articles. 

After  the  surrender  of  Yorktown  and 
the  departure  of  Count  de  Rochambeau's 
army,  General  Washington  established  his 
head-quarters  at  Newburg,  on  the  Hudson 
River.  Here  the  American  Army,  in  the 
now  certain  prospect  of  peace,  justly  dis 
satisfied  with  the  want  of  all  provision 
to  give  effect  to  the  resolution  of  Octo 
ber,  1780,  by  which  half-pay  for  life  was 
promised  to  the  officers,  endeavored  by 
a  new  appeal  to  Congress,  to  obtain  a 
definitive  settlement  of  their  claims,  by 
an  equitable  commutation.  Congress  was 
divided  on  the  expediency  of  the  meas 
ure;  and,  if  it  had  been  unanimous,  pos 
sessed  no  power  to  give  effect  to  its 
recommendations.  Vague  promises  were 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  149 

made,  but  nothing  effective  done.  Great 
irritation  arose  on  the  return  of  the  del 
egates  to  head-quarters.  A  meeting  of 
the  officers  was  called,  and  an  inflamma 
tory  appeal  to  the  army  was  circulated, 
celebrated  as  the  Newburgh  Address,  "  in 
which  the  troops  were  exhorted  not  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  disbanded  till  jus 
tice  was  obtained."  It  was  a  moment  of 
great  alarm  and  real  danger,  but  the 
influence  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  offi 
cial  and  personal,  was  promptly  called 
into  action,  and  moderate  counsels  pre 
vailed. 

So  tardy  were  communications  across 
the  Atlantic  at  that  time,  that  official  in 
formation  of  the  provisional  treaty  was 
not  received  in  the  United  States  till  the 
spring  of  1783,  when  it  came  by  the  way 
of  Cadiz ;  and  it  was  first  officially  pro 
claimed  to  the  army  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1783,  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which, 

13* 


150  THE  LIFE   OF 

eight  years  before,  the  war  commenced  at 
Lexington  and  Concord.  Furloughs  were 
freely  granted  to  officers  and  men  from 
that  time  forward,  and  on  the  18th  of 
October  the  army  was  formally  released 
from  service.  New  York  was  surrendered 
by  Sir  Guy  Carleton  to  General  Wash 
ington  on  the  25th  November,  and  on 
the  4th  of  December  the  Commander-in- 
chief  took  an  affectionate  and  pathetic 
leave  of  his  brother  officers.  Repairing 
to  Annapolis,  to  which  place  Congress 
had  adjourned,  General  Washington,  on 
the  23d  of  December,  made  his  formal 
resignation  in  an  address  of  surpassing 
beauty  and  dignity,  which  we  quote  at 
lenth  :  — 


PRESIDENT, 

"The  great  events  on  which  my  resig 
nation  depended,  having  at  length  taken 
place,  I  have  now  the  honor  of  offering 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  151 

my  sincere  congratulations  to  Congress, 
and  of  presenting  myself  before  them,  to 
surrender  into  their  hands  the  trust  com 
mitted  to  me,  and  to  claim  the  indul 
gence  of  retiring  from  the  service  of  my 
country. 

"Happy  in  the  confirmation  of  our  in 
dependence  and  sovereignty,  and  pleased 
with  the  opportunity  afforded  the  United 
States  of  becoming  a  respectable  nation,  I 
resign  with  satisfaction  the  appointment  I 
accepted  with  diffidence ;  a  diffidence  in 
my  abilities  to  accomplish  so  arduous  a 
task ;  wilich,  however,  was  superseded  by 
a  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  our 
cause,  the  support  of  the  supreme  power 
of  the  Union,  and  the  patronage  of 
Heaven. 

"The  successful  termination  of  the  war 
has  verified  the  most  sanguine  expecta 
tions;  and  my  gratitude  for  the  interposi 
tion  of  Providence,  and  the  assistance  I 


152  THE  LIFE   OF 

have  received  from  my  countrymen,  in 
creases  with  every  review  of  the  moment 
ous  contest. 

"  While  I  repeat  my  obligations  to  the 
army  in  general,  I  should  do  injustice  to 
my  own  feelings  not  to  acknowledge,  in 
this  place,  the  peculiar  services  and  dis 
tinguished  merits  of  the  gentlemen  who 
have  been  attached  to  my  person  during 
the  war.  It  was  impossible  the  choice 
of  confidential  officers  to  compose  my 
family  should  have  been  more  fortunate. 
Permit  me,  sir,  to  recommend  in  particu 
lar  those  who  have  continued  in  the  ser 
vice  to  the  present  moment,  as  worthy 
of  the  favorable  notice  and  patronage  of 
Congress. 

"I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty 
to  close  this  last  act  of  my  official  life 
by  commending  the  interests  of  our 
dearest  country  to  the  protection  of 
Almighty  God,  and  those  who  have  the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  153 

superintendence    of    them    to     His    holy 
keeping. 

"Having  now  finished  the  work  as 
signed  me,  I  retire  from  the  great  thea 
tre  of  action,  and  bidding  an  affectionate 
farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose 
orders  I  have  so  long  acted,  I  here  offer 
my  Commission,  and  take  my  leave  of  all 
the  employments  of  public  life." 


154  THE  LIFE   OF 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Washington  retires  to  Mount  Vernon  —  Visits  the  Coun 
try  west  of  the  Alleghanies  —  Recommends  opening  a 
Communication  between  the  Head  Waters  of  the  At 
lantic  Rivers  and  the  Ohio  —  Agricultural  Pursuits  — 
His  Views  of  Slavery  —  Critical  State  of  the  Country 
—  Steps  that  led  to  the  Formation  of  the  present 
Government  —  The  Federal  Convention  and  Washing 
ton  its  President  —  The  Constitution  framed  —  Adopted 
by  the  States  —  Washington  elected  the  First  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  and  inaugurated  30th  of 
April,  1789. 

IMMEDIATELY  on  resigning  his  commis 
sion  General  Washington  returned  to  his 
home  at  Mount  Vernon,  which,  during 
the  eight  years  of  the  war,  he  had  vis 
ited  but  twice,  and  then  hastily,  on  his 
way  to  and  from  Yorktown  in  the  year 
1781,  with  the  Count  de  Rochambeau. 
Greatly  attached  to  his  agricultural  and 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  155 

horticultural  pursuits,  he  devoted  his  time 
to  the  care  of  his  plantations,  garden,  and 
grounds,  —  to  the  management  of  what 
was  considered  in  America  at  that  time 
a  large  landed  property ;  to  the  extensive 
correspondence  which  devolved  upon  him, 
particularly  in  connection  with  the  events 
of  the  war;  and  to  the  reception  and  en 
tertainment  of  visitors,  who  came  in  great 
numbers  from  every  part  of  the  United 
States  and  from  Europe.  This  last  men 
tioned  call  upon  his  time  and  attention, 
necessarily  very  serious,  was  rendered 
less  oppressive  than  it  would  otherwise 
have  been,  by  the  excellent  housewifery 
of  Mrs.  Washington,  who  administered 
with  method  and  skill  the  liberal  but  un 
ostentatious  hospitality  of  Mount  Vernon. 
For  two  years  after  the  war,  he  carried 
on  his  heavy  correspondence  without 
clerical  aid,  writing  and  copying  his  let 
ters  with  his  own  hand.  To  the  close  of 


156  THE  LIFE  OF 

his  life  he  kept  his  account-books  with 
great  care  and  with  his  own  hand,  ac 
cording  to  the  system  of  double  entry. 

In  the  autumn  of  1784,  General  Wash 
ington  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  partly  for 
the  purpose  of  examining  the  lands  which 
he  had  formerly  taken  up  in  that  region, 
and  partly  to  explore  the  head  waters 
of  the  Potomac  and  James  rivers,  with 
reference  to  their  connection  with  the 
streams  which  flow  into  the  Ohio.  This 
was  a  subject  which  had,  from  an  early 
period,  been  familiar  to  his  thoughts,  as 
one  of  vast  importance  to  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  United  States.  The 
result  of  his  inquiries  was  highly  favora 
ble  to  a  system  of  inland  navigation,  con 
necting  the  Atlantic  seaboard  with  the 
great  rivers  of  the  West,  and  the  region 
drained  by  them.  On  his  return  he  ad 
dressed  an  elaborate,  well-reasoned,  and 
persuasive  letter  on  the  subject  to  the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  157 

governor  of  Virginia.  This  communica 
tion  had  a  powerful  effect  on  the  public 
mind,  and  led  to  the  organization  of  the 
James  River  and  Potomac  Canal  Compa 
nies.  In  acknowledgment  of  his  agency  in 
bringing  about  this  result,  and  still  more 
in  gratitude  for  his  Revolutionary  ser 
vices,  the  State  of  Yirginia  presented  him 
with  fifty  shares  in  the  Potomac  Canal 
Company,  valued  at  ten  thousand  dollars, 
and  one  hundred  shares  in  the  James 
River  Canal  Company,  valued  at  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  In  obedience  to  the 
principle  which  governed  him  through 
life,  this  grant  was  accepted  by  Washing 
ton  only  on  condition,  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  hold  the  property  in  trust  for 
some  public  object  The  shares  in  the 
James  River  Canal  were  finally  appropri 
ated  for  the  endowment  of  a  college  at 
Lexington,  in  Rockbridge  County,  Vir 
ginia,  which  in  consequence  assumed  the 


11 


158  THE  LIFE   OF 

name  of  Washington  College.  The  shares 
in  the  Potomac  Canal  Company  were 
appropriated  for  the  endowment  of  a 
university  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Government, —  an  appropriation  which  re 
mains  without  effect. 

Agriculture  was  at  this  period  of  his 
life,  as  indeed  at  almost  every  period,  his 
main  occupation.  He  looked  upon  his 
official  duties,  civil  and  military,  as  an 
interruption  to  its  pursuit.  A  resident 
in  the  lower  part  of  Virginia,  and  the 
owner  of  extensive  landed  estates,  he 
was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  slaveholder. 
His  correspondence  shows  him  to  have 
been  a  strict  and  vigilant,  but  at  the 
same  time  a  just,  thoughtful,  and  hu 
mane  master;  studying  his  own  interest 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  farms,  not  more 
than  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  his  de 
pendants.  In  common  with  most,  if  not 
all,  the  leading  statesmen  of  Virginia  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  159 

that  day,  he  was  opposed  to  slavery;  but 
he  happily  lived  at  a  time  when  the 
subject,  which  now  so  violently  agitates 
the  American  Union,  had  not  yet  been 
drawn  into  the  party  divisions  of  the 
country,  and  was  discussed  exclusively  in 
its  bearings  on  the  public  welfare.  As 
early  as  1786,  he  had  formed  a  resolu 
tion  never,  unless  compelled  by  particular 
circumstances,  "to  possess  another  slave 
by  purchase ; "  and  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Morris,  written  in  that  year,  he  says  : 
"There  is  not  a  man  living  who  wishes 
more  sincerely  than  I  do  to  see  a  plan 
adopted  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  But 
there  is  only  one  proper  and  effectual 
mode  by  which  it  can  be  accomplished, 
and  that  is  by  legislative  authority ;  and 
this,  as  far  as  my  suffrage  will  go,  will 
never  be  wanting."  This  sentiment  is 
repeated  in  several  parts  of  his  corre 
spondence  ;  but  his  habitual  respect  for 


160  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  law  led  him  to  deprecate  all  inter 
ference  with  legal  rights;  and  it  is  the 
object  of  the  letter  to  Mr.  Morris,  from 
which  the  above  extract  is  taken,  to  re 
monstrate,  with  reference  to  a  particular 
case,  against  such  interference  on  the 
part  of  "individuals  and  private  socie 
ties."  * 

The  period  succeeding  the  peace  of 
1783,  up  to  the  adoption  of  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States  in  1788,  was 
more  critical,  with  reference  to  the  per 
manent  prosperity  of  the  country,  than 
that  of  the  war  itself,  however  oppressive 
and  exhausting.  A  reduction  of  the  states, 
which  had  declared  themselves  indepen 
dent,  to  the  former  colonial  condition,  could 
not  have  been  brought  about  by  continu 
ing  the  war;  but  the  peace  found  the 
United  States  without  a  government, — 
unable  to  command  respect  abroad,  or  to 

*  Sparks's  Washington,  vol.  ix.  p.   158. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  161 

start  upon  a  career  of  prosperous  growth 
and  development  at  home.  The  country 
was  exhausted  by  the  war;  there  were 
no  manufactures,  very  little  commerce, 
and  no  means,  except  recommendations  of 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  (which 
were  treated  with  utter  neglect,)  of  rais 
ing  a  revenue  for  the  purpose  either  of 
paying  the  interest  of  the  foreign  debt, 
or  to  meet  any  public  expenditure  for 
domestic  purposes.  The  manifold  evils  of 
this  state  of  things  were  felt  by  every 
intelligent  person,  but  the  remedy  was 
all  but  hopeless.  The  most  obvious  resort 
was  to  clothe  the  Federal  Congress  with 
the  power  to  raise  a  revenue  by  imposts 
and  direct  taxation.  But  there  was,  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  states,  a  great 
reluctance  to  confer  larger  powers  on 
that  body;  and  few  even  of  the  most 
far-sighted  individuals  had  conceived  the 
idea  of  converting  the  old  confederation, 

14* 


162  THE  LIFE   OF 

which     was    simply    a    league    of    inde 
pendent    states,    assembled     in    Congress, 
each  with   equal  powers,  and   acting  only 
by    recommendations    addressed    to    their 
separate    state    governments,    into    a    fed 
eral  government  possessing  authority  that 
should   bind    the    individual    citizen.     This 
change,  however,  was  at  length   effected, 
and    by  a  series    of  agencies,  at  first   in 
striking    disproportion    to    the  importance 
of    the    result,    and    in    no    small    degree 
under  the    influence    of  Washington.     Al 
though  wholly   retired   to   private  life,  his 
name    and    authority    were    at    this    time 
almost  the  only  vital  power  in  the  coun 
try;  the   common    respect   and   reverence 
for  him  almost  the  only  bond  of  union. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind,  that  before 
the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  the  several  states 
were,  in  all  their  commercial  affairs,  in 
the  relation  to  each  other  of  independent 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  163 

nations ;  and  it  happened  in  some  in 
stances  that  conterminous  states  pursued 
a  policy  of  mutual  hostility.  In  the 
month  of  March,  1785,  commissioners  on 
the  part  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  met 
at  Alexandria,  in  the  latter  state,  for  the 
purpose  of  "keeping  up  harmony  in  the 
commercial  regulations  of  the  two  states, 
with  reference  to  the  navigation  of  the 
rivers  Potomac  and  Pocomoke,  and  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,"  the  waters  of  which 
were  to  some  extent  common  to  the  two 
states.  General  Washington  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Vir 
ginia;  and  his  associates  being  on  a  visit 
to  him  at  Mount  Vernon,  it  was  there 
agreed  by  them  to  recommend  to  their 
respective  states  the  appointment  of  a 
new  commission,  with  enlarged  powers,  to 
devise  a  plan  for  the  establishment,  un 
der  the  sanction  of  Congress,  of  a  naval 
force  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  a  uni- 


164  THE  LIFE   OF 

form  tariff  of  duties  on  imports,  to  which 
the  laws  of  the  two  states  should  con 
form.  The  proposal,  thus  concerted  at 
Mount  Vernon,  was  adopted  by  the  leg 
islature  of  Virginia;  and  being  brought 
before  that  body  at  a  time  when  it  had 
under  consideration  a  project  for  granting 
enlarged  commercial  powers  to  Congress, 
a  resolution  was  passed,  directing  that  so 
much  of  the  report  of  the  commissioners 
as  referred  to  a  uniform  tariff  of  duties 
should  be  communicated  to  the  other 
states,  with  an  invitation  to  attend  the 
proposed  meeting.  On  the  21st  of  Janu 
ary,  1786,  a  resolution  passed  the  legisla 
ture  of  Virginia,  appointing  commissioners 
to  meet  with  those  which  might  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  other  states,  "to  take  into 
consideration  the  trade  of  the  United 
States;  to  examine  the  relative  situation 
and  trade  of  the  said  states;  to  consider 
how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their  com- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  165 

mercial  regulations  may  be  necessary  to 
their  common  interest  and  their  perma 
nent  harmony."  Washington,  at  his  own 
instance  for  personal  reasons,  was  not  a 
member  of  this  commission,  though  the 
object  was  one  which  he  had  greatly  at 
heart.  The  meeting  was  appointed  to  be 
held  in  Annapolis,  in  September,  1786 ;  but 
delegates  from  five  states  only  attended, 
and  some  of  them  with  powers  too  lim 
ited  for  any  valuable  purpose.  Nothing 
accordingly  was  attempted  beyond  the 
preparation  of  a  report,  setting  forth  the 
existing  evils,  and  recommending  to  the 
several  states  to  appoint  delegates  to 
meet  at  Philadelphia  the  next  May. 
A  copy  of  this  report  was  sent  to 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  which 
still  retained  a  nominal  existence ;  and 
that  body,  by  recommending  the  pro 
posed  measure,  gave  it,  in  the  opinion 
of  some  persons,  that  necessary  constitu- 


166  THE  LIFE   OF 

tional  sanction,  in  which  the  meeting  at 
Annapolis  was  deficient.  This  report  was 
adopted  by  Virginia,  and  seven  delegates 
appointed,  with  Washington  at  their  head, 
to  represent  that  state  in  the  proposed 
convention. 

This  body,  now  usually  called  the  ^  Fed 
eral  Convention,"  assembled  in  Philadel 
phia  on  the  2d  of  May,  1787.  Washington 
was  unanimously  elected  its  president.  In 
anticipation  of  the  meeting  and  the  duties 
which  might  devolve  upon  its  members, 
"he  read,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,  "the  history, 
and  examined  the  principles,  of  the  an 
cient  and  modern  confederacies.  There 
is  a  paper  in  his  handwriting,  which  con 
tains  an  abstract  of  each,  and  in  which 
are  noted,  in  a  methodical  order,  their 
chief  characteristics,  the  kinds  of  author 
ity  they  possessed,  their  modes  of  opera 
tion,  and  their  defects.  The  confederacies 
analyzed  in  this  paper  are  the  Lycian, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  167 

Amphictyonic,  Achaean,  Helvetic,  Belgic, 
and  Germanic."  The  debates  in  the  con 
vention  were  principally  had  in  commit 
tee  of  the  whole,  in  which,  by  the  ap 
pointment  of  Washington  as  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  body,  the  chair  was  occu 
pied  by  Hon.  Nathaniel  Gorham,  of  Mas 
sachusetts.  Without  his  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  debates,  the  influence  of 
Washington  was  steadily  exerted,  and  in 
the  direction  of  an  efficient  central  gov 
ernment.  The  convention  remained  in 
session  about  four  months;  and  on  the 
17th  of  September,  1787,  the  result  of 
their  labors,  as  embodied  in  the  present 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  was 
communicated  to  the  Federal  Congress, 
with  a  letter  signed  by  General  Wash 
ington,  as  president  of  the  convention. 
This  instrument  of  government,  under 
which  the  United  States  have  so  signally 
prospered  for  nearly  three  fourths  of  a 


168  THE  LIFE   OF 

century,    though    not    deemed    perfect   in 
every  point   by   Washington,   or  probably 
by   any   of  its    most    ardent    friends,    was 
regarded   by  him,  and   declared   to   be,  in 
his    correspondence,    the    best    that    could 
be    hoped    for    in    the    condition    of    the 
country,     and     as     presenting     the     only 
alternative    for     anarchy    and    civil    war. 
"There   is    a    tradition,"    says  Mr.   George 
T.  Curtis,  in  his  valuable  "  History  of  the 
Constitution,"*    « that    when    Washington 
was  about  to  sign  the  instrument,  he  rose 
from    his    seat,    and    holding    the    pen    in 
his  hand,  after  a  short  pause,  pronounced 
these    words:    < Should    the    states    reject 
this  excellent  constitution,  the  probability 
is   that   an    opportunity   will    never   again 
be  offered  to   cancel   another  in   peace, — 
the  next  wTill  be  drawn  in  blood.'" 

The  convention,  by  which  the  Constitu 
tion    was    framed,    was    not    clothed    with 

*  Vol.  ii.  p.  487. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  169 

legislative  power,  nor  was  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation  competent  to  accept 
or  reject  the  new  form  of  government. 
It  was  referred  by  them  to  the  several 
states,  represented  by  conventions  of  the 
people ;  and  it  was  provided  in  the  in 
strument  itself,  that  it  should  become  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  when  adopted 
by  nine  states.  The  residue  of  the  year 
1787,  and  the  first  half  of  1788  were 
taken  up  with  the  holding  of  these  con 
ventions,  and  it  was  not  till  the  summer 
of  1788  that  the  ratification  of  nine 
states  was  obtained.  The  action  of  these 
conventions  was  watched  with  great  so 
licitude  by  Washington,  and  his  influence 
was  efficiently  employed,  through  the 
medium  of  his  correspondence,  to  procure 
the  adoption  of  the  new  form  of  govern 
ment. 

The    4th    of   March,    1789,    had    been 
appointed   by   the   Congress,  as    the    time 

15 


170  THE  LIFE  OF 

when  the  new  Constitution  should  go 
into  operation.  Previous  to  that  time, 
the  choice  of  the  electoral  colleges,  and 
of  the  senators  and  representatives  who 
were  to  compose  the  first  Congress,  was 
to  be  had  in  the  several  states.  By  the 
Constitution,  as  originally  framed,  two  per 
sons  were  to  be  voted  for  by  the  presi 
dential  electors,  as  president  and  vice- 
president,  without  designating  for  which 
of  the  two  offices  the  candidates  were 
respectively  supported.  The  candidate  re 
ceiving  the  majority  of  votes  was  to  be 
the  president ;  and  in  case  of  equality  of 
two  or  more  candidates,  the  House  of 
Representatives,  voting  not  per  capita  but 
by  states,  the  members  from  each  state, 
whether  great  or  small,  casting  one  vote, 
was  to  designate  a  president  and  vice- 
president,  from  the  three  highest  candi 
dates  having  an  equal  number  of  votes. 
The  whole  number  of  electoral  votes 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

given  in  the  first  election  was  but  sixty- 
nine,  and  they  were  all  for  General 
Washington.  Thirty-four  votes  were  given 
for  John  Adams,  and  a  much  smaller 
number  of  votes  being  scattered  among 
several  other  candidates,  George  Wash 
ington  and  John  Adams  were  elected  the 
first  President  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States.  The  private  and  confiden 
tial  correspondence  of  Washington  shows 
the  sincerity  of  his  uniform  public  decla 
rations,  that  he  shrunk  from  the  office 
with  unaffected  reluctance,  both  as  a  can 
didate  and  after  his  election.  He  is  prob 
ably  the  only  person  who  has  ever  been 
called  to  the  chair  of  state,  without  hav 
ing  desired,  and  to  some  extent  perhaps 
exerted  himself  to  obtain,  the  nomination. 
Such  was  the  apathy  of  the  country 
with  reference  to  the  new  form  of  gov 
ernment,  and  such  the  tardiness  of  the 
new  Congress  in  coming  together,  that  al- 


172  THE   LIFE   OF 

though  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  was  ap 
pointed  as  the  day  of  meeting,  a  quorum 
of  the  two  Houses  was  not  assembled  till 
the  6th  of  April.  The  first  business  was 
to  count  the  electoral  votes  for  president 
and  vice-president,  and  to  communicate 
the  result  to  the  persons  chosen.  Wash 
ington  received  the  official  notification  of 
his  election  at  Mount  Yernon,  on  the 
14th  of  April,  and  started  immediately 
for  the  seat  of  government,  which  was 
for  the  first  two  years  established  at 
New  York.  His  journey  through  the 
states  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and 
New  Jersey,  was  a  triumphal  procession. 
Debates  in  Congress  on  the  proper  offi 
cial  style  by  which  he  was  to  be  ad 
dressed,  and  a  disagreement  between  the 
two  Houses  on  that  subject,  which  ended 
in  nothing  being  done,  caused  some  de 
lay;  and  it  was  not  till  the  30th  of 
April,  1789,  that  he  took  the  oath  pre- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  173 

scribed  by  the  constitution,  as  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States.  There 
were  other  statesmen  in  the  country  who 
stood  high  in  the  respect  and  in  the 
affections  of  the  people ;  but  the  prefer 
ence  for  Washington  was  absolute  and 
unqualified.  No  other  individual  was 
thought  of  for  a  moment  as  a  rival  can 
didate.  In  advance  of  all  the  constitu 
tional  forms  of  election,  which  in  his  case 
were  but  forms,  he  was  chosen  unani 
mously  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  He 
was  fifty-seven  years  old  when  he  en 
tered  upon  the  office.  His  frame  was 
naturally  vigorous  and  athletic,  but  its 
strength  was  perhaps  somewhat  impaired 
by  the  labors  and  exposures  of  two  wars, 
and  by  repeated  severe  attacks  of  dis 
ease.  Such  an  attack  threatened  his  life 
immediately  after  entering  upon  the  presi 
dency  ;  and  in  a  letter  to  Lafayette  he 
speaks  of  himself,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one, 

15* 


174  THE   LIFE  OF 

as  having  inherited  the  constitution  of  a 
short-lived  family.  His  father  died  young, 
but  his  venerable  mother  lived  to  witness 
his  elevation  to  the  presidency,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Washington 
had  made  a  farewell  visit  to  her  before 
repairing  to  the  seat  of  government.  His 
great  elevation  and  distinguished  honors 
produced  no  change  in  her  simple  mode 
of  life.  She  occupied,  to  the  last,  the 
humble  dwelling  of  one  upright  story  at 
Fredericksburg,  in  which  he  had  passed 
his  boyhood,  and  which,  somewhat  mod 
ernized,  is  still  standing.  Her  habitual 
commendation  of  him  was,  that  "  George 
had  always  been  a  good  son." 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  175 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Washington's  Administration  continued  through  two  Terms 
of  Office  —  Peculiar  Difficulties  at  Home  and  Abroad 
—  Tendency  toward  the  Formation  of  Parties  —  The 
Cabinet  divided  —  Growth  of  Party-Spirit  —  Washing 
ton  unanimously  reflected  —  Retirement  of  Jefferson 
and  Hamilton  from  the  Cabinet — War  between  France 
and  England  —  Neutrality  of  the  United  States  —  Vio 
lated  by  both  the  Belligerents  —  Offensive  Proceedings 
of  Genet,  the  French  Minister — Mission  of  Jay  to  Eng 
land  —  His  Treaty  unpopular  —  Attempt  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  withhold  the  Appropriations  to 
carry  it  into  Effect  —  Washington  refuses  to  communi 
cate  the  Instructions  under  which  it  was  negotiated. 

AT  the  close  of  his  first  presidential 
term  of  four  years,  though  extremely 
desirous  of  retiring  from  public  life,  he 
yielded  to  the  urgency  of  friends  of  all 
parties,  and  consenting  to  accept  the 
office  for  a  second  period,  was  again 
unanimously  elected.  His  administration, 


176  THE   LIFE    OF 

therefore,  may  be   spoken   of  as   covering 
a  space   of  eight  years,  from  the  date  of 
the    new    government.      As    that    govern 
ment  was,   in   its  leading  features,  a  new 
political   system,  and    all    its    departments 
were  to   be   organized   and   put  in   action, 
for  the   first  time,  unusual   difficulties  at 
tended    his    administration,    for    the    want 
of  precedents  to  which  he  could  look  for 
guidance.     Other  difficulties  grew  out  of 
the   state   of  public   affairs   abroad   and  at 
home.     The   interest  felt  in  the  American 
Revolution    by   the    friends    of  liberty  in 
Europe     had     to    a    considerable     degree 
passed   away,   and   the   United  States  had 
not    acquired    a    strength    which    enabled 
them  to  command  the   respect   of  foreign 
powers.     Worse    than    this,    it    was    some 
time  before   a   fiscal   system   could   be   or 
ganized,  and   a   revenue  raised  for  paying 
the  interest  of  the  foreign  debt,  —  a  debt 
paltry   in   amount,   but    no    debt    is    small 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  177 

which  a  man  is  unable  to  pay.  Difficul 
ties  arose  with  England,  relative  to  the 
execution  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  by  which 
the  independence  of  the  United  States 
was  acknowledged.  She  complained  that 
the  states  threw  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
the  recovery  of  debts  due  to  British  sub 
jects  ;  and  the  United  States  in  turn 
complained  that  the  military  posts  on 
the  northwestern  frontier  were  retained 
by  England,  and  the  Indians  encouraged 
in  their  hostility  against  the  Union.  Soon 
the  French  Revolution  broke  out ;  and 
each  of  the  belligerents  gave  great  cause 
of  complaint  to  the  American  govern 
ment.  Meantime,  important  questions  and 
interests  divided  opinion  and  gradually 
led  to  the  formation  of  parties  at  home : 
the  assumption  by  Congress  of  the  revo 
lutionary  debts  of  the  states;  the  fund 
ing  system;  the  location  of  the  seat  of 
the  federal  government ;  the  taxes  to 


178  THE   LIFE    OF 

which  resort  had  been  had  to  create  a 
revenue;  the  establishment  of  a  national 
bank;  and,  as  the  French  Revolution  ad 
vanced,  the  relations  of  the  Union  to  the 
two  great  belligerents. 

At   the   commencement   of  his   adminis 
tration,    and    before    the    organization    of 
the   parties  which    afterwards   took  place, 
General    Washington    surrounded    himself, 
in    the    executive    offices,   with    the    most 
distinguished    men    in    the    country.     Mr. 
Jefferson  in  the  department  of  state   and 
Mr.    Hamilton   in    the    treasury,   the    pro 
spective  leaders  of  the   two   great  parties 
into   which   the   country   was   before    long 
divided,  received  equal  marks   of  his  con 
fidence  ;    and    when    his    retirement    from 
office   at  the    end    of  the   first   term   was 
proposed    by    him,    they,    with    equal    ur 
gency,  entreated   him  to  accept  a  re-nom 
ination.      Had    it    been    possible    for    any 
person   to   administer   the    presidential  of- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  179 

fice  without  the  aid  of  party  support,  or 
rather  to  conciliate  unanimous  support 
by  merits  and  services,  which  win  the 
respect  and  gratitude  of  all  parties, 
Washington  was  certainly  marked  out  by 
the  entire  course  of  his  life  and  the  his 
tory  of  the  country  as  such  a  person.  It 
was  his  earnest  desire  to  give  this  char 
acter  to  his  administration.  He  had  com 
posed  it  of  the  individuals  who,  in  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  Union,  possessed  most 
of  the  public  confidence,  and  whom  he 
had  called  to  his  assistance,  on  the  sole 
ground  of  being  best  qualified  to  conduct 
the  public  business  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  people.  But  the  administration  of  a 
government,  and  especially  one  coming 
into  existence,  where  much  of  the  detail 
of  organization  is  to  be  struck  out  anew, 
necessarily  assumes  a  certain  leading  char 
acter  founded  on  general  principles  and 
ideas,  with  respect  to  which  the  judg- 


180  THE   LIFE   OF 

ments  of  men  naturally  differ.  It  is  only 
in  times  of  extreme  peril,  and  hardly 
then,  that  they  can  be  brought  to  think 
alike  and  act  in  one  united  mass,  without 
party  divisions. 

General  Washington's  administration 
commenced  with  a  state  of  public  opin 
ion  predisposed  to  the  formation  of  par 
ties.  The  constitution  had  been  adopted, 
in  the  most  important  states,  by  slender 
majorities,  and  in  the  face  of  a  strong 
opposition.  Those  who  opposed  the"  adop 
tion  of  the  constitution  were,  generally 
speaking,  persons  who  regarded  a  strong 
central  government  with  apprehension,  as 
dangerous  to  the  prerogatives  of  the 
state  governments  and  the  liberties  of 
the  people.  It  was  a  matter  of  course 
that,  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitu 
tion,  the  measures  of  the  new  govern 
ment,  which  tended  to  give  it  strength 
and  efficiency,  should  be  feared  and  op- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  181 

posed  by  the  same  class  of  statesmen 
and  citizens.  Among  these  measures  were 
some  which,  by  their  friends,  were  deemed 
of  vital  importance  to  the  government  of 
the  country,  such  as  the  funding  system, 
the  assumption  of  the  revolutionary  debts 
of  the  several  states,  and  the  establish 
ment  of  a  national  bank.  On  these  meas 
ures  the  members  of  the  first  Cabinet 
were  divided.  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  secre 
tary  of  the  treasury,  by  whom  they  were 
proposed,  and  Knox,  the  secretary  of  war, 
were  on  one  side  ;  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  sec 
retary  of  state,  and  Mr.  Randolph,  the 
attorney-general,  on  the  other.  The  po 
litical  influences  throughout  the  country 
were  about  equally  divided,  Mr.  Hamilton 
and  Mr.  Jefferson  being  respectively  the 
acknowledged  representatives  of  the  sys 
tems,  which  favored  and  opposed  a  strong 
central  government.  General  Washing 
ton,  with  untiring  assiduity  and  patience, 


182  THE  LIFE   OF 

sought  to  conciliate  the  opposite  opinions, 
holding  himself  in  suspense,  as  long  as 
the  public  service  admitted,  as  to  the 
adoption  of  particular  measures,  and  seek 
ing  advice  with  equal  anxiety  on  both 
sides.  Eventually,  however,  a  decision 
must  be  made ;  the  measure  is  a  distinct 
political  issue  and  must  be  adopted  or 
rejected.  In  reference  to  the  subjects 
above  referred  to,  the  President  sustained 
the  general  views  of  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury;  and  in  this  way,  though  stand 
ing  aloof  from  all  electioneering  plans  and 
arrangements,  became  at  length  identified 
in  public  opinon  with  the  principles  and 
measures  of  the  party  of  which  Mr 
Hamilton  was  the  acknowledged  leader. 
His  great  name  and  spotless  character 
shielded  him,  for  a  considerable  time, 
from  the  assaults  of  party  warfare.  The 
persons  that  opposed  his  administration 
were  content  with  condemning  its  meas- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  183 

ures  and  inveighing  against  those  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet  and  of  Congress  by 
whom  they  were  projected  and  sustained. 
Some  check  was  imposed  on  all  general 
censures  upon  his  administration,  so  long 
as  Mr.  Jefferson  remained  at  the  head  of 
it,  and  responsible  even  for  some  of  the 
measures  most  obnoxious  to  its  oppo 
nents,  such  as  the  proclamation  of  neu 
trality  in  the  war  between  France  and 
England.  All  restraint  of  this  kind  ceased 
with  his  retirement  from  the  Cabinet 
soon  after  the  commencement  of  his  sec 
ond  term.  That  of  Mr.  Hamilton  took 
place  not  long  afterward.  But  the  with 
drawal  of  these  great  rivals,  instead  of 
relieving  Washington  from  the  embarrass 
ments  arising  from  their  hostile  relations 
to  each  other,  was  in  fact  the  signal  for 
a  stricter  organization,  in  Congress  and 
throughout  the  country,  of  the  parties  of 
which  they  were  severally  the  leaders. 


184  THE  LIFE   OF 

Mr.    Hamilton    was    understood    to    carry 
with    him    more    of    the    confidence    and 
sympathy  of  the  President,  who  was  from 
that    time    more    and    more    identified    in 
public    opinion  "with    the    federal,    which 
was  still  the   dominant,  party.     Party  def 
amation,    however,   reached    him    only    by 
slow  degrees,    and,  if   one    may  use   that 
phrase,    with    moderation.     He    possessed 
a  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  country  too 
strong  to  be   seriously  loosened  by  news 
paper  diatribes.     It  was   notorious   to   the 
whole    people,    that    office,    so    far    from 
being   an   object   of  his  ambition,  was   re 
garded  by  him  as  a   burden.     His    revo 
lutionary   services   were    still    everywhere 
freshly    and     enthusiastically    appreciated. 
Men    of  high    character,    though    opposed 
to    his    political    system,    desired    to    treat 
him    personally  with    respect;   vulgar    de 
traction    could    not    reach    him.      Accord 
ingly,  though  parties  might  be  considered 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  185 

as  distinctly  organized  by  the  close  of 
the  first  term  of  his  administration,  he 
was,  as  we  have  stated,  unanimously  re- 
elected,  having  received  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two  votes,  in  the  electoral  colleges, 
—  that  being  the  entire  number  of  the 
presidential  electors. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  administration, 
the  President  made  a  hasty  tour  through 
the  Eastern  States  of  the  Union ;  and,  in 
the  following  spring,  he  visited  the  South 
ern  States, — on  each  occasion  (it  is  men 
tioned  as  a  trait  of  manners)  travelling 
with  his  own  carriage  and  horses.  The 
United  States  at  that  time  numbered  a 
population  of  about  four  millions  ;  the 
largest  cities,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and 
New  York,  were  then  small  towns ;  the 
great  branches  of  industry  were  almost 
unknown ;  a  small  military  force  guarded 
the  Indian  frontier ;  there  was  not  a  single 
public  vessel ;  nor  a  state  government 

16* 


186  THE  LIFE   OF 

west   of  the   Alleghanies.     This   state   of 
things    but    ill    sustains    the    comparison 
with    that  which   w^e   now  behold    in    the 
American  Union:  thirty-three  states,  some 
of  the  largest  in   the  basin  of  the  Missis 
sippi,   and    two   on   the    Pacific   Ocean;    a 
population  of  thirty  millions ;  a  commercial 
tonnage  inferior  to  that  of  England  alone, 
if   inferior    even    to    that;    a    highly    ad 
vanced    condition   of  the    great    industrial 
pursuits  ;  a  respectable  military  and  naval 
establishment;  and  creditable  progress    in 
science    and    literature.      Yet   the   United 
States,  as   Washington    saw  them  on    his 
tours  in  1789   and    1790,  presented    such 
a  contrast  with    the  colonies   as    he  trav 
ersed   them    on    his    way    to    Boston    in 
1756,    as    was     probably    never     brought 
within   the    experience    of  one  man,    and 
within    so    narrow    a    compass    as    thirty- 
three  years. 

Washington    entered    upon    his    second 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  187 

term  of  the  presidential  office,  to  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  he  had  been  unanimous 
ly  re-elected,  on  the  3d  of  March,  1793. 
He  still  stood  before  the  country  with 
unshaken  personal  popularity,  in  a  rela 
tion  unshared,  indeed  unapproached  by 
any  other  individual,  but  at  length  driven 
by  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  strongly 
against  his  private  impulses,  into  the  po 
sition  of  the  head  of  an  administration, 
which,  if  warmly  supported,  was  also 
wannly  opposed.  Shortly  after  the  com 
mencement  of  his  second  term  of  office, 
the  war  between  France  and  England 
broke  out.  The  French  revolution,  as  was 
natural  from  the  all-important  services 
rendered  by  France  to  the  United  States 
in  their  own  revolutionary  struggle,  en 
listed  the  warm  sympathy  of  the  Ameri 
can  people.  Washington  fully  shared  this 
sentiment,  and  his  great  personal  regard 
for  Lafayette,  with  whom  he  kept  up  a 


188  THE  LIFE    OF 

regular    correspondence,    and   from    whom 
lie   naturally   derived   his    general   impres 
sions  of  the   march  of  events,  led  him  to 
look    with    a     favorable     eye     upon     the 
movements,    of  which    Lafayette    was    for 
a  considerable   time   an  influential  leader. 
But   that  judicial    moderation,  which  was 
the    most    striking    trait    of   Washington's 
character,  soon  took  alarm  at  the  excesses 
of  the  French  revolution,  and  the  conclu 
sions  of  his  own  mind  were  confirmed  by 
the   tenor  of  the   despatches   of  Mr.  Gou- 
verneur    Morris,    who,    as    the    American 
minister    at    Paris,    enjoyed    much    of  the 
confidence  of  Louis  the  Sixteenth  and  his 
family,  and  of  the  still  faithful  friends  of 
the  tottering  monarchy. 

As  the  United  States  were  first  intro 
duced  to  the  family  of  nations  by  the 
alliance  with  France  of  1778,  the  very 
important  question  arose,  on  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  war  between  France  and 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  189 

England,  how  far  they  were  bound  to 
take  part  in  the  contest.  The  second 
article  of  the  treaty  of  alliance  seemed 
to  limit  its  operation  to  the  then  existing 
war  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain ;  but  by  the  eleventh  article  the 
two  contracting  powrers  agreed  to  "  guar 
antee  mutually  from  the  present  time 
and  forever,  against  all  other  powers,"  the 
territories  of  which  the  allies  might  be 
in  possession  respectively  at  the  moment 
the  war  between  France  and  Great  Britr 
ain  should  break  out,  which  was  antici 
pated  as  the  necessary  consequence  of 
the  alliance. 

Not  only  were  the  general  sympathies 
of  America  strongly  with  France,  but  the 
course  pursued  by  Great  Britain  toward 
the  United  States,  since  the  peace  of 
IT 83,  was  productive  of  extreme  irrita 
tion,  especially  her  refusal  to  give  up 
the  western  posts,  which,  as  has  been 


190  THE  LIFE  OF 

intimated,    had    the     effect    of    involving 
the  northwestern   frontier  in   a   prolonged 
and  disastrous   Indian  war.     These  causes, 
together  with  the   recent  recollections  of 
the    revolutionary    struggle,    disposed    the 
popular    mind    to    make    common    cause 
with    France,    in    what    was    regarded    as 
the  war  of  a  people   struggling  for  free 
dom    against    the    combined    despots    of 
Europe.     Washington,  however,   from    the 
first,  determined   to  maintain   the  neutral 
ity    of  the    country.      The    news    of    the 
war  reached   him   at   Mount  Vernon,   and 
he    immediately   addressed   letters    to    the 
heads   of  department,  to  prepare  them  to 
express   their   opinions,   on    his    return    to 
the   seat   of  government,  as   to   the  meas 
ures    necessary    to    prevent    the    country 
from  being  drawn  into  the  vortex.     They 
agreed    unanimously    on    the    expediency 
of   issuing    a    proclamation    of   neutrality, 
and    of    receiving    a    minister    from    the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  191 

French  republic ;  while  on  some  other 
points  submitted  to  them,  especially  the 
extent  of  the  above-mentioned  "  guaranty," 
the  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  equally 
divided. 

This  proclamation,  though  draughted  by 
Mr.  Jefferson  and  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  Cabinet,  was  violently  assailed  by 
the  organs  of  the  party  which  followed 
his  lead.  A  series  of  questions  which 
General  Washington  had  confidentially 
submitted  to  the  Cabinet,  embracing  all 
the  phases  of  the  relations  between  the 
two  countries,  had  found  its  way  to 
the  public,  and  the  President  was  as 
sumed  to  have  answered  in  his  own 
mind,  adversely  to  France,  every  question 
proposed  by  him  for  the  opinion  of  his 
constitutional  advisers.  The  growing  ex 
citement  of  the  popular  mind  was  fanned 
to  a  flame  by  the  arrival  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  of  "  Citizen "  Genet,  who 


192  THE  LIFE   OF 

was  sent  as  the  minister  of  the  French 
Republic  to  the  United  States.  Without 
repairing  to  the  seat  of  government,  or 
being  accredited  in  any  way,  in  his  offi 
cial  capacity,  he  began  to  fit  out  priva 
teers  in  Charleston,  to  cruise  against  the 
commerce  of  England.  Although  the  ut 
most  gentleness  and  patience  were  ob 
served  by  the  executive  of  the  United 
States  in  checking  this  violation  of  their 
neutrality,  Genet  assumed  from  the  first 
a  tone  of  defiance,  and  threatened  before 
long  to  appeal  from  the  government  to 
the  people.  These  insolent  demonstra 
tions  were  of  course  lost  upon  Washing 
ton's  firmness  and  moral  courage.  They 
distressed,  but  did  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  intimidate  him;  and  their  effect 
on  the  popular  mind  was  to  some  extent 
neutralized  by  the  facts,  that  the  chief 
measures  to  maintain  the  neutrality  of 
the  country  had  been  unanimously  ad- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  193 

vised  by  the  Cabinet,  and  that  the 
duty  of  rebuking  his  intemperate  course 
had  devolved  upon  the  secretary  of  state, 
the  recognized  head  of  the  party  to  which 
Genet  looked  for  sympathy. 

If  the  conduct  of  France  and  of  the 
French  minister  gave  great  offence  to  the 
American  government,  that  of  England 
was  scarcely  less  exceptionable.  Besides 
the  causes  of  irritation  already  mentioned, 
she  had  added  materially  to  the  existing 
animosity,  by  orders  in  council,  by  which 
the  lawful  carrying-trade  of  the  United 
States  was  vexatiously  interfered  with, 
and  still  more  by  the  impressment  of 
seamen  from  our  vessels.  At  the  close 
of  the  first  year  of  President  Washing 
ton's  second  administration,  a  very  able 
and  elaborate  report  was  drawn  up  by 
Mr.  Jefferson,  then  about  to  retire  from 
office,  on  the  commercial  relations  of 
the  country.  At  the  session  of  Congress 


17 


194  THE  LIFE   OF 

of  1794,  a  discrimination  against  the 
commerce  of  England  was  proposed  in 
a  series  of  resolutions  introduced  by  Mr. 
Madison,  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  a 
statesman  whose  general  moderation  was 
not  less  conspicuous  than  his  ability  and 
patriotism.  Proportionate  weight  attached 
to  a  measure  brought  forward  under  his 
advocacy.  The  subject  was  debated  in 
various  forms  in  the  course  of  the  ses 
sion,  and  an  act  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  embracing  the  principle 
of  discrimination,  which  was,  however, 
lost  in  the  Senate,  by  the  casting  vote 
of  the  vice-president. 

In  this  critical  state  of  affairs,  General 
Washington  determined  to  take  a  decisive 
step  to  extricate  the  country  from  the 
embarrassment  of  being  at  variance,  at 
the  same  time,  with  both  of  the  belliger 
ents.  This  step  was  the  appointment  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  195 

a  special  minister  to  England ;  and  the 
selection  for  this  important  trust  of  the 
chief  justice  of  the  United  States,  John 
Jay,  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  circum 
spect,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  experi 
enced,  of  the  public  men  of  the  day.  His 
nomination  was  violently  assailed  by  the 
opposing  party,  and  barely  passed  the 
Senate.  He  succeeded  in  negotiating  a 
treaty,  by  which  the  principal  points 
in  controversy  between  the  two  govern 
ments  were  settled :  the  western  posts 
were  given  up ;  indemnification  promised 
by  the  United  States  for  the  losses  accru 
ing  by  the  non-payment  of  debts  due  to 
British  creditors,  and  by  Great  Britain  for 
illegal  captures;  and  the  commercial  inter 
course  of  the  two  nations  was  in  most  re 
spects  satisfactorily  regulated.  The  twelfth 
article  failed  to  obtain  the  confirmation  of 
the  Senate,  inasmuch  as  it  stipulated  that 
molasses,  sugar,  coffee,  cocoa,  and  cotton, 


196  THE  LIFE  OF 

should  not  be  carried  in  American  ves 
sels,  either  from  the  British  islands  or 
from  the  United  States,  to  any  foreign 
port;  the  great  agricultural  staple  of  the 
country,  of  which  more  than  four  millions 
of  bales  will  be  exported  the  present  year 
(1860),  not  being  known,  sixty-five  years 
ago,  to  the  negotiators  on  either  side  as 
an  article  of  American  production ! 

On  the  arrival  and  before  the  official 
promulgation  of  the  treaty,  it  was  vio 
lently  assailed.  It  was  barely  adopted  by 
the  constitutional  majority  (two  thirds) 
of  the  Senate,  and  on  its  official  publica 
tion  became  the  subject  of  unmeasured 
denunciation.  Boston  led  the  way  in  a 
town  meeting,  where  resolutions,  strongly 
condemning  the  treaty,  were  adopted  and 
ordered  to  be  transmitted  to  the  Presi 
dent.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
the  public  interest  required  the  confirma 
tion  of  the  treaty,  and  returned  to  the 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  197 

Boston  remonstrants  a  dispassionate  an 
swer  to  that  effect.  With  this  example 
from  a  portion  of  the  country,  where  the 
strength  of  his  administration  was  con 
centrated,  it  was  not  likely  that  the  tone 
of  opposition  would  be  gentler  in  other 
parts  of  the  Union.  On  the  contrary,  the 
vehemence  with  which  the  treaty  was 
assailed  daily  gathered  strength,  and  at 
length  the  barriers  of  deference  toward 
the  personal  character  of  the  President 
were  wholly  broken  down.  "The  mission 
of  Jay,"  says  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in 
his  "Life  of  Washington,"  "visibly  affected 
the  decorum  which  had  been  usually  ob 
served  toward  him,  and  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  brought  into  open  view 
feelings  which  had  long  been  ill  con 
cealed.  With  equal  virulence  the  mili 
tary  and  political  character  of  the  Presi 
dent  was  attacked,  and  he  was  averred 
to  be  totally  destitute  of  merit  either  as 

17* 


198  THE   LIFE   OF 

a  soldier  or  a  statesman.  The  calumnies 
with  which  he  was  assailed  were  not  con 
fined  to  his  public  conduct ;  even  his 
qualities  as  a  man  were  the  subject  of 
detraction.  That  he  had  violated  the 
constitution  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with 
out  the  previous  advice  of  the  Senate, 
and  in  embracing  within  that  treaty  sub 
jects  belonging  exclusively  to  the  legisla 
ture,  was  openly  maintained,  for  which  an 
impeachment  was  publicly  suggested ;  and 
that  he  had  drawn  from  the  treasury  for 
his  private  use  more  than  the  salary 
annexed  to  his  office,  was  unblushingly 
asserted  ! "  Such  was  the  frenzy  of  party ; 
it  afflicted  Washington,  but  did  not  cause 
him  to  swerve  a  hair's  breadth  from  his 
course. 

An  attempt  was  made,  in  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives,  to  withhold  the  appropri 
ations  necessary  to  carry  the  treaty  into 
effect.  The  party  metaphysics  of  the  day 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  199 

revelled  in  the  plausible  argument,  which 
has  since  reappeared  on  similar  occasions, 
that,  as  no  money  can  be  constitutionally 
drawn  from  the  treasury  without  a  spe 
cific  appropriation,  it  was  not  competent 
for  the  President  and  Senate,  as  the 
treaty-making  power,  to  pledge  the  faith 
of  the  country  to  the  expenditure  of 
money.  It  was  forgotten,  however,  that 
a  treaty  is,  by  the  same  constitutional 
authority,  the  supreme  law  of  the  land, 
and,  as  such,  binding  on  the  conscience 
of  the  legislature.  The  extreme  views 
of  the  opponents  of  the  administration 
did  not  prevail,  and  the  appropriations 
necessary  to  carry  the  treaty  into  effect 
passed  the  two  Houses.  It  was  on  this 
subject  that  Mr.  Fisher  Ames,  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  made  the  celebrated  speech, 
which  is  still  freshly  remembered. 

Among  the   other  measures  of  the   op 
position,  was   the    demand   made    by   the 


200  THE  LIFE   OF 

House   of  Eepresentatives  for  the  commu 
nication   of  the    instructions  under  which 
the   treaty  was  negotiated.     In   the   mod 
ern    usage    of    Congress,    a    call    of    this 
kind  from  either  House  is  complied  with 
as   a  matter   of  course;   containing,   as   it 
always   does,  in  important  cases,  a  reser 
vation    that    the    communication    can,    in 
the   President's   opinion,  be   made  without 
detriment    to    the     public     service.      The 
practice   of  the   government  had  not  yet 
been  established  by  usage,  in  reference  to 
subjects    of  this    kind.     The    demand   for 
the     communication     of    the    instructions 
under  which  Mr.  Jay  had  acted,  was  re 
garded,  and  justly,  as  a  hostile  movement 
against  the   administration,  and  the  Presi 
dent   refused    to    communicate   the  paper. 
He     planted     himself    resolutely    on    the 
ground,    that     the     treaty-making    power 
was   confided    by  the    constitution   to  the 
President    and    Senate,    and    that    it    was 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  201 

not  competent  for  the  House  of  Represent 
atives  to  require  the  communication  of 
the  instructions,  which  might  have  been 
given  to  the  negotiators.  The  resolution, 
as  originally  moved,  made  an  unqualified 
demand  for  the  instructions  and  other 
papers  connected  with  the  treaty.  Fur 
ther  reflection  led  the  mover  (Mr.  Living 
ston)  so  far  to  modify  the  call,  as  to  ex 
cept  from  it  papers,  the  communication 
of  which  might  affect  existing  negotia 
tions.  A  further  amendment  was  moved 
by  Mr.  Madison,  to  except  such  papers 
"as  it  might  be  inconsistent  with  the 
interests  of  the  United  States  at  this 
time  to  disclose."  But  this  wise  and 
temperate  suggestion,  from  the  ablest 
and  most  sagacious  member  of  the  op 
position,  was  rejected  by  a  decisive  vote 
of  the  House.  Had  it  passed,  it  is  prob 
able  that  the  President  would  have  com 
municated  the  instructions,  which,  in  the 


202  THE  LIFE   OF 

absence  of  that  qualification,  he  resolutely 
withheld. 

No   transaction   in   the   civil   life   of  the 
President    throws    stronger    light    on    the 
firmness  of  his   character  and  his  resolute 
adherence    to    principle.      This    has    heen 
shown  by  subsequent  events  more  clearly 
than  it  was    understood   at  the   time.     It 
was    believed    by    the    opponents    of    the 
administration,    and    that    impression    was 
no   doubt  shared   to   some   extent  by  the 
public,  that  the  instructions  given   to   Mr. 
Jay  might  contain  matters,  which  it  would 
not  be  entirely  convenient   to   the  admin 
istration,  or  the  President   as   its   head,  to 
disclose.      It    was    probably    supposed    by 
many    persons,     that    Washington    would 
have  yielded  to  the  request  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  had   not  some  motive 
stronger     than     mere     abstract    principle 
prevented    his    doing    so.     It    is   the   only 
instance,  probably,  in  the  history  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  203 

government,  where  a  paper  which  could 
be  laid  before  the  public  without  incon 
venience  to  the  country  or  the  adminis 
tration,  has,  when  asked  for  by  either 
House  of  Congress,  been  withheld.  Such, 
however,  was  indubitably  the  fact  in  this 
instance.  The  instructions  in  question  re 
mained  for  thirty  years  buried  in  the  pub 
lic  archives,  and  undivulged.  At  length, 
in  compliance  with  a  call  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  in  1825,  and  in  ref 
erence  to  the  illegal  captures  of  Ameri 
can  vessels,  made  by  the  French  cruisers 
prior  to  1800,  a  mass  of  papers,  filling 
a  large  octavo  volume,  was  communi 
cated  to  the  Senate,  and  among  them 
these  once  celebrated  instructions.  It 
was  then  found,  by  the  few  who  took 
the  trouble  to  examine  them,  as  a  mat 
ter  of  historical  curiosity,  that  nothing 
could  be  more  innocent;  that  they  con 
tained  nothing  which  the  most  preju- 


204  THE    LIFE    OF 

diced  opponent  could  have  tortured  to 
the  discredit  of  the  administration;  and 
that  Washington  had  no  motive  whatever 
for  withholding  them,  but  that  of  consti 
tutional  principle. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  205 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Insurrection  in  Pennsylvania  suppressed  —  Washington's 
Interest  in  Lafayette  —  His  Son  received  at  Mount 
Vernon  —  Close  of  the  Second  Term  of  Office  and 
Farewell  Address  —  Denunciation  of  the  spurious  Let 
ters  —  Retirement  from  the  Presidency  —  Return  to 
Mount  Vernon  —  Rupture  between  the  United  States 
and  France  —  Washington  appointed  Lieutenant-Gen 
eral  —  Anticipations  of  the  Conflict  —  Downfall  of  the 
Directory,  and  Accommodation  with  France. 

THE  limits  of  this  work  do  not  admit 
of  a  detailed  narrative  of  events,  but  we 
ought  not  omit  all  mention  of  the  firm 
ness  and  resolution  of  Washington  in 
calling  into  action  the  military  force  of 
the  Union,  to  suppress  almost  the  only 
formidable  attempt  to  resist  the  laws, 
which  has  taken  place  since  the  adoption 
of  the  federal  constitution.  The  tax 
levied  on  distilled  spirits,  in  1792,  had 

18 


206  THE  LIFE   OF 

been,  from  the  first,  unpopular  in  some 
portions  of  the  country,  and  especially 
in  western  Pennsylvania.  The  newspa 
pers  teemed  with  inflammatory  appeals 
to  the  people ;  the  payment  of  the  duty 
was  in  many  cases  refused  •  the  tax- 
gatherers  and  other  officers  of  the  United 
States  were  insulted;  meetings  to  oppose 
the  law  were  held,  and  at  length  prepa 
rations  made  for  organized  forcible  resists 
ance.  These  proceedings  extended  over  a 
period  of  nearly  two  years.  Trusting  to 
the  return  of  reason  on  the  part  of  the 
disaffected,  no  coercive  measures,  beyond 
the  ordinary  application  of  the  law,  were 
for  a  long  time  resorted  "to  by  the  fed- 
'eral  government.  This  lenity  was,  how 
ever,  ascribed  to  fear,  and  led  to  daily 
increasing  boldness  on  the  part  of  the 
mallcontents  in  western  Pennsylvania,  till, 
in  1794,  it  became  manifest  that  more 
decisive  measures  must  be  adopted.  The 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  207 

militia  of  the  neighboring  States  of  New 
Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  were 
called  out,  in  aid  of  the  militia  of  Penn 
sylvania,  to  the  amount  in  the  whole  of 
fifteen  thousand  troops.  The  President 
avowed  the  intention  of  taking  the  field 
in  person,  and  repaired  to  the  rendez 
vous  of  the  troops  at  Cumberland  and 
Bedford.  These  demonstrations  produced 
the  desired  result ;  the  disaffected  per 
ceived  the  madness  of  their  course,  and 
the  insurrection  subsided  without  a  con 
flict. 

President  Washington's  sympathies  were 
warmly  enlisted  in  favor  of  Lafayette, 
after  it  became  necessary  for  him  to 
abandon  his  army  and  give  himself  up 
to  the  Prussians.  On  his  first  arrival  in 
this  country,  he  had  the  good  fortune, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  Commander-in-chief,  which  he  re 
tained,  by  the  uniform  propriety  of  his 


208  THE   LIFE  OF 

conduct,  to  the   close   of  the   war.     There 
is    no    stronger    testimony    to    the    solid 
merit    of    the    young    French    nobleman, 
than   his   having  played   his  difficult  part, 
military  and  political,  to   the   entire   satis 
faction    of  his    illustrious   American   chief. 
The  ties   of  personal  attachment  between 
them  were  added  to  those  of  official  con 
fidence    and    respect.     A    friendly    corre 
spondence  was  kept  up  between  Washing 
ton  and  Lafayette  and   his  wife,  after  the 
close    of    the    Revolutionary    War.      The 
hopeful   interest   taken   by  Washington  in 
the  French  revolution,  in  its  early  stages, 
was,  as   has   been   stated,  in   some   degree 
inspired   by  regard   for   Lafayette,  and  by 
confidence   in   his   principles,  of  which  he 
had   given   such   satisfactory  proof  in  this 
country.     After    his    denunciation    by    the 
Jacobins    at    Paris    and    his    escape    from 
his  army,  Washington,  having  heard   that 
Madame    Lafayette    was    in   want   abroad, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  209 

endeavored,  through  our  ministers,  to 
contribute  to  her  relief,  delicately  seek 
ing  to  make  his  donation  assume  the 
form  of  the  repayment  of  a  debt.  After 
Lafayette,  by  a  refinement  of  barbarous 
stupidity  of  which  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  find  a  parallel,  had,  though  a  fugi 
tive  from  the  guillotine  in  Paris,  been 
thrown  into  a  fortress  in  Austria,  Wash 
ington  addressed  a  letter  in  his  favor  to 
the  Emperor  of  Germany.  It  received 
no  answer ;  and  Lafayette  remained  in 
the  fortress  of  Olmiitz,  till,  by  a  just 
retribution,  his  enlargement,  which  was 
refused  to  the  respectful  request  of 
Washington,  was  extorted  by  the  com 
mand  of  Napoleon.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  by 
a  strange  inadvertence,  states,  that  La 
fayette  was  given  up  on  the  19th  of 
December,  1795,  in  exchange  for  the 
Duchess  d'Angouleme.  His  release  was 
peremptorily  demanded  by  Napoleon  in 

18* 


210  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  conferences  at  Leoben,  which  pre 
ceded  the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  and 
he  was  finally  set  at  liberty  on  the  23d 
of  September,  1797. 

During  his   confinement,  and  while  Ma 
dame   Lafayette  was   imprisoned  in   Paris, 
(awaiting  that  fate  which  in  one  day  had 
smitten     her     grandmother,    the    Duchess 
de     Noailles,    her    mother,    the     Duchess 
d'Ayen,   and    her    sister,   the    Countess   de 
Noailles,    but  which    she   happily   escaped 
by     the     downfall     of    Eobespierre,)     her 
son,    George    Washington    Lafayette,    just 
of    age    for    the    conscription,    succeeded, 
through    the     friendly    aid     of    the     late 
Messrs.    Thomas    H.    Perkins    and    Joseph 
Eussell,  of  Boston,   in   making   his   escape 
to    this    country.      He    found    a    paternal 
welcome     at     Mount    Vernon,    where    he 
lived,    as    a    member    of   the    family,    for 
about     three     years,     and     returned     to 
France    on    the    liberation    of  his    father. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  211 

During  the  residence  of  young  Lafayette 
at  Mount  Vernon,  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
(afterwards  King  Louis  Philippe)  was 
also  a  visitor  tl^ere  with  his  brother;  and 
tradition  points  to  the  border  of  the 
paper-hangings  in  one  of  the  parlors,  as 
having  been  cut  out  and  prepared  for 
pasting  on  the  walls,  by  these  young 
French  exiles  (in  conjunction  with  the 
youthful  members  of  the  Washington 
family) ;  happier  perhaps,  certainly  freer 
from  care,  while  so  employed,  than  at 
any  earlier  or  later  period  of  their  check 
ered  and  eventful  lives. 

At  length  the  last  year  of  General 
Washington's  second  quadrennial  term  of 
office  arrived.  Suggestions  began  to  be 
made  to  him  by  his  friends,  looking  to 
another  reelection,  but  nothing  could 
now  shake  his  purpose  to  retire;  and  he 
determined  to  put  all  doubt  on  that  sub 
ject  at  rest,  by  a  very  formal  announce- 


212  THE  LIFE  OF 

ment    of  his    purpose.     Having    this    im 
mediate    object     in    view,    with     parental 
interest    in    the    present    welfare    of    his 
countrymen,    and     provident    forethought 
for  the  future,  he   determined  to  connect 
with    it    another    object    of    still    greater 
ulterior    importance:    a    Farewell    Address 
to   his  fellow-citizens,  embodying    his    last 
counsels    for    their    instruction    and    guid 
ance.      The    steps    taken    by    Washington 
for  the   preparation  of  this   address,  were 
marked  with  more  than  his  usual  circum 
spection   and   care.     They   have   been   the 
subject  of  some  difference  of  opinion  and 
discussion,    at    different    times,    in    which 
it  would   exceed   the   limits  of  this  work 
to   engage.     All    the    known  facts    of  the 
case   are   brought  together  and   set  forth, 
with    great    acuteness    and    precision,    by 
Hon.    Horace    Binney,    in    the    essay    to 
which    allusion    has    been    made    in    the 
preface    to  these    pages,  entitled  "An  In- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  213 

quiry  into  the  Formation  of  Washington's 
Farewell  Address." 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  Washing 
ton,  from  an  early  period  of  his  admin 
istration.,  to  decline  a  reelection  at  the 
close  of  the  term  of  office  for  which  he 
was  chosen  in  1789.  Early  in  1792,  he 
considered  the  expediency  of  a  farewell 
address  in  connection  with  the  announce 
ment  of  his  purpose  to  retire.  Among 
other  confidential  friends  consulted  by 
him  at  this  time  was  Mr.  Madison,  with 
whom  he  communicated  both  orally  at 
Philadelphia,  and  by  letter  after  the  re 
cess  of  Congress.  Mr.  Madison,  in  reply 
to  his  letter,  after  earnestly  dissuading 
the  President  from  his  purpose  to  retire, 
transmitted  to  him  the  draught  of  an  ad 
dress,  which  has  been  preserved.  It  is 
of  no  great  length,  and  was  evidently  in 
tended  not  to  go  far  beyond  the  hints 
contained  in  the  President's  letter,  either 


214  THE  LIFE   OF 

in  the  choice  or  treatment  of  the  topics. 
Washington  having  been  induced,  by  the 
earnest  and  unanimous  solicitation  of  his 
friends,  to  consent  to  a  reelection,  this 
address  was  of  course  laid  aside. 

In  the  spring  of  1796,  and  in  the  last 
year  of  his  second  administration,  having, 
as  we  have  seen,  made  up  his  mind  irrev 
ocably  to  decline  a  re-nomination,  Wash 
ington  again  took  counsel  on  the  subject 
of  a  farewell  address.  In  the  progress  of 
the  political  divisions  of  the  day,  Mr. 
Madison  had  ceased  to  be  of  the  number 
of  his  confidential  advisers,  and  the  Presi 
dent  called  upon  Hamilton  to  aid  him  on 
this  occasion.  Washington's  first  step  was 
to  prepare  himself  a  rough  sketch  of  a 
farewell  address.  It  consisted  of  a  few 
preliminary  sentences,  introducing  .the 
draught  furnished  by  Mr.  Madison  in 
1792,  (to  which,  for  particular  reasons, 
Washington  adhered  with  some  tenacity,) 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  215 

and  this  was  followed  by  the  thoughts 
and  sentiments,  which  he  deemed  most 
appropriate  for  such  an  address.  As  this 
paper  was  intended  only  to  furnish  ma 
terials,  that  portion  of  it  which  follows 
Madison's  draught,  and  was  composed  by 
Washington  himself,  is  a  series  of  re 
marks  and  suggestions,  not  studiously 
arranged  nor  elaborated  for  promulgation. 
This  paper  was  shown  by  Washington  to 
Hamilton,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  spring 
of  1796,  and  the  wish  expressed  that  he 
would  "re-dress"  it.  It  was  also  sug 
gested  that,  besides  doing  this,  Hamilton, 
if  he  thought  best,  should  "throw  the 
whole  into  a  new  form/'  "predicated 
upon  the  sentiments  contained"  in  Wash 
ington's  draught. 

This  was  accordingly  done.  Hamilton 
first  prepared  the  address,  thrown  wholly 
into  a  "new  form,"  and  then  digested  in 
another  paper,  in  connection  with  Mr. 


216  THE  LIFE  OF 

Madison's  short  address,  the  thoughts  and 
suggestions  appended  to  it,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  Washington's  original  draught. 
The  President  gave  a  decided  prefer 
ence  to  the  "  new  form,"  and,  after  very 
careful  revision  by  him,  it  was  published 
on  the  19th  of  September,  1796. 

Of  the  documents  and  papers  con 
nected  with  this  interesting  production, 
there  have  been  preserved,  in  addition  to 
most  if  not  all  the  correspondence  be 
tween  Washington  and  Hamilton,  Wash 
ington's  original  rough  draught  of  a  fare 
well  address  and  Hamilton's  revision  of  it, 
(these  two  papers  exist  only  in  the  copies 
taken  by  Mr.  Sparks,  the  originals  having 
disappeared,)  and  Hamilton's  original 
draught  of  an  address  in  the  "  new  form." 
There  is  also  preserved  among  Hamilton's 
papers  "An  abstract  of  Points  to  form 
an  Address,"  which  appears  to  have  been 
drawn  up  by  him  as  a  guide,  in  prepar- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  217 

ing  his  original  draught.  Hamilton's  orig 
inal  draught,  as  revised  and  corrected  and 
adopted  by  Washington,  has  disappeared. 
The  original  manuscript  of  the  Farewell 
Address,  from  which  it  was  printed,  is  in 
existence,  and  it  is  wholly  in  the  hand 
writing  of  Washington.  It  contains  very 
many  corrections,  erasures,  and  interlinea 
tions,  which  are  also  all  in  Washington's 
handwriting.  It  was  presented  to  the 
editor  of  the  paper  in  which  it  was  pub 
lished,  Claypoole,  at  his  request,  by  Wash 
ington  himself;  and  at  Claypoole's  decease 
it  was  purchased,  for  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars,  by  James  Lenox,  Esq.,  of  New 
York,  who  has  caused  a  very  carefully 
prepared  edition  of  it  to  be  privately 
printed,  with  all  the  variations  accurately 
noted  in  the  margin. 

The  above  statement  is  believed  to 
contain  the  material  facts  of  the  case,  as 
far  as  they  appear  from  the  papers  now 

19 


218  THE   LIFE   OF 

in  existence.  The  limits  of  these  pages 
will  not  admit  a  more  detailed  investiga 
tion  of  the  question  of  authorship,  nor 
could  it  be  made  to  advantage  without 
a  careful  examination  and  comparison  of 
the  original  papers  in  the  case.  From 
such  an  examination  it  will,  we  think,  ap 
pear,  that  the  Farewell  Address,  as  drawn 
up  by  Hamilton  and  published  by  Wash 
ington  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
commencing  with  the  material  portions  of 
Mr.  Madison's  draught  of  1792,  presents, 
in  a  more  developed  form,  the  various 
ideas  contained  in  Washington's  original 
draught,  and  treats,  in  argumentative 
connection,  the  topics  therein  more  apho- 
ristically  propounded ;  the  whole  combined 
with  original  suggestions  of  a  kindred 
type  from  Hamilton's  own  pen.  Great 
skill  is  evinced  by  him  in  interweaving, 
in  its  proper  place,  every  suggestion  con 
tained  in  Washington's  draught,  (with  a 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  219 

single  exception) ;  nor  is  there  believed  to 
be  anything  superadded  by  Hamilton,  of 
which  the  germ  at  least  cannot  be  found 
in  Washington's  draught,  in  his  multifari 
ous  correspondence,  or  in  other  produc 
tions  unquestionably  from  his  pen. 

A  single  topic  contained  in  Washing 
ton's  draught  was  excluded,  with  his  full 
consent  and  approbation,  from  the  pub 
lished  address.  The  passage  in  question 
consisted  of  suggestions  of  a  personal 
character,  —  an  indignant  allusion  to  the 
efforts  made  by  "some  of  the  gazettes  of 
the  United  States,"  by  misrepresentations 
and  falsehoods,  "to  wound  his  reputation 
and  feelings,"  and  u  to  weaken  if  not  en 
tirely  destroy  the  confidence"  reposed  in 
him  by  the  country;  a  proud  assertion 
of  the  uprightness  of  his  intentions ;  a 
touching  demand  of  respect  for  "  the  gray 
hairs  of  a  man "  who  had  passed  the 
prime  of  his  life  in  the  service  of  the 


220  THE   LIFE   OF 

country,  that  he  may  "be  suffered  to 
pass  quietly  to  his  grave ; "  with  a  con 
cluding  observation  that  his  fortune  had 
not  been  improved  by  the  emoluments 
of  office.  These  ideas,  rather  more  care 
fully  digested  than  any  other  portion  of 
Washington's  original  draught,  are,  in  the 
published  address,  omitted  almost  wholly, 
and  this  with  the  distinct  approbation  of 
Washington.  It  appears  to  have  been 
thought  that,  in  a  paper  calculated  to 
descend  to  posterity,  allusions  to  tempo 
rary  causes  of  irritation  had  better  be 
suppressed.  From  this  opinion  we  are 
compelled,  with  great  diffidence,  to  dis 
sent.  We  are  under  the  impression  that, 
though  this  part  of  Washington's  draught, 
like  the  rest  of  it,  (but  less  than  the 
other  portions,)  was  "in  a  rough  state," 
the  substance  of  it,  with  some  softening 
of  the  language,  which  was  never  in 
tended  for  publication,  might  have  been' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  221 

retained.  The  opponents  of  Washington 
were  not  conciliated  by  its  absence,  and 
posterity  has  lost  a  lesson  on  the  license 
and  ferocity  of  party  defamation,  nearly 
as  important  as  any  contained  in  the  ad 
dress.  It  reflects  new  lustre  on  the  mod 
esty  of  Washington,  that,  in  a  matter 
personal  to  himself,  he  deferred  to  the 
judgment  of  his  trusted  friend  ;  but  this 
judgment,  in  the  present  case,  we  con 
ceive  to  have  been  erroneous. 

It  may  finally  be  observed  that  Wash 
ington,  with  reference  to  this  address,  as 
to  every  act  in  life,  aimed,  with  the  en 
tire  sacrifice  of  self,  to  accomplish  the 
desired  good.  He  was  accustomed,  as  a 
military  chieftain,  to  employ  daily  the 
pens  of  active  and  intelligent  secretaries, 
in  communicating  his  plans,  transmitting 
his  commands,  and  generally  carrying  on 
his  correspondence,  without  the  thought 
that  they  were  any  the  less  the  dictates 

19* 


222  THE  LIFE   OF 

of  his  own  mind  and  judgment,  because 
conveyed  in  the  words  of  another.  This 
habit  he  carried  with  him  to  the  presi 
dency,  freely  putting  in  requisition  the 
aid  of  such  official  advisers  and  personal 
friends  as  in  his  opinion  would  best  ena 
ble  him  to  perform  the  duty  of  the  day. 
In  doing  this,  he  retained  and  exercised 
an  independent  judgment,  and  he  adopted 
nothing  furnished  to  him  by  others,  which 
did  not,  after  rigid  scrutiny,  stand  the 
test  of  his  own  marvellous  discernment 
and  unerring  wisdom. 

The  vice-president,  Mr.  John  Adams, 
was  chosen  his  successor  by  a  majority 
so  slender*  as  to  show  that  the  country 
was  now  divided  into  two  parties  nearly 
equal.  The  tone  of  the  public  journals 
and  the  debates  in  Congress  displayed  an 
intensity  of  party  feeling  usually  found 
under  similar  circumstances.  Twelve  mem- 

*  For  John  Adams,  71 ;  for  Thomas  Jefferson,  68. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  223 

bers  of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives 
voted  against  the  response  of  the  House 
to  the  President's  address  to  Congress 
at  the  opening  of  the  last  session,  and  a 
member  from  Virginia  allowed  himself  to 
say,  "that  he  did  not  regret  the  Presi 
dent's  retirement."  On  the  3d  of  March, 
the  last  day  of  his  administration,  he 
gave  a  farewell  dinner  to  the  foreign 
ministers,  the  president  and  vice-president 
elect,  and  other  distinguished  persons  of 
both  sexes.  Much  hilarity  prevailed;  till, 
toward  the  close  of  the  entertainment, 
filling  his  glass,  he  said  to  the  company, 
with  a  gracious  smile,  "Ladies  and  gen 
tlemen,  this  is  the  last  time  I  shall  drink 
your  health  as  a  public  man.  I  do  it 
with  sincerity,  wishing  you  all  possible 
happiness."  Bishop  White,  in  relating 
this  anecdote,  adds  that  there  was  an  end 
of  all  gayety ;  and  that  having  directed 
his  eye  accidentally  to  Lady  Liston,  the 


224  THE  LIFE   OF 

wife  of  the  British  minister,  he  perceived 
the  tears  running  down  her  cheeks.  The 
next  day  General  Washington  attended 
the  inauguration  of  President  Adams,  and 
received  on  that  occasion  the  most  strik 
ing  tokens  of  the  public  respect  and 
veneration.  The  crowd  followed  him  with 
acclamations,  from  the  chamber  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  where  the 
inaugural  ceremonies  of  his  successor 
were  performed,  to  his  own  door.  "There 
turning  round,  his  countenance  assumed 
a  grave  and  almost  melancholy  expres 
sion,  his  eyes  were  bathed  in  tears,  his 
emotions  were  too  great  for  utterance, 
and  only  by  his  gestures  could  he  indi 
cate  his  thanks  and  convey  his  farewell 
blessing."  *  Similar  demonstrations"  of  re 
spect  were  repeated  at  a  splendid  enter- 

*  President    W.    A.    Duer's    recollections,    in    Irving's 
Washington,   vol.    v.   p.    271. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  225 

tainment    given    to    him    in    the    evening 
by  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia. 

The  last  official  letter  of  General  Wash 
ington,  as  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  addressed  to  the  secretary  of  state, 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  on  record  a 
formal  denunciation  of  the  forgeries,  to 
which  allusion  has  been  already  made. 
This  letter,  after  denying  the  truth  of 
the  facts  which  were  alleged  for  the  sake 
of  giving  a  show  of  probability  to  this 
wretched  fabrication,  adds,  with  touching 
pathos,  "As  I  cannot  know  how  soon  a 
more  serious  event  may  succeed  to  that 
which  will  this  day  take  place,  I  have 
thought  it  a  duty  which  I  owed  to  my 
self,  to  my  country,  and  to  truth,  now  to 
detail  the  circumstances  above  recited ; 
and  to  add  my  solemn  declaration  that 
the  letters  herein  described  are  a  base 
forgery,  and  that  I  never  saw  or  heard 
of  them  till  they  appeared  in  print." 


226  THE  LIFE   OF 

Washington  left  Philadelphia  about  the 
llth  or  12th  of  March,  1797,  accom 
panied  by  Mrs.  Washington,  Miss  Custis, 
and  George  Washington  Lafayette  and 
his  tutor,  and  returned  to  Mount  Yernon 
by  the  way  of  Baltimore,  accompanied 
by  the  blessings  of  the  people. 

Here  it  was  his  fondly  cherished  wish 
and  hope  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  tranquil  retirement.  He  was 
sixty-five  years  of  age,  a  few  days  be 
fore  he  retired  from  the  presidency,  and, 
as  has  been  already  mentioned,  he  did 
not  consider  himself  as  of  a  long-lived 
family.  He  had  taken  a  definitive  leave 
of  political  life  ;  he  was  fond  of  agricul 
tural  pursuits ;  and  his  private  affairs, 
much  neglected  during  the  eight  years 
of  his  presidency,  as  they  had  also  been 
while  he  was  in  the  military  service  of 
the  country,  imperatively  demanded  his 
attention.  In  addition  to  this,  the  state 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  227 

of  parties  was  such  as  to  dispose  him 
more  than  ever  to  stand  aloof.  Extreme 
opinions,  tending  in  opposite  directions, 
more  than  ever  divided  the  country;  and 
the  voice  of  moderation,  always  scorned 
by  zealots,  was,  even  if  uttered  by  Wash 
ington,  less  likely  than  ever  to  be  heard. 
But  his  hopes  of  unmolested  retire 
ment,  however  ardently  cherished,  were 
doomed  to  be  disappointed.  The  course 
pursued  by  the  French  Directory  was 
such  as  to  exhaust  the  patience  alike  of 
the  government  and  people  of  the  Unit 
ed  States.  From  the  first  arrival  of  M. 
Genet  in  this  country,  in  1793,  although 
his  successor  did  not  come  quite  up  to 
the  standard  of  his  indecorum,  our  diplo 
matic  relations  with  France  had  been  of 
the  most  unsatisfactory  kind.  Our  neu 
trality  in  the  war  raging  in  Europe  was, 
or  was  pretended  to  be,  taken  in  ill 
part,  and  the  negotiation  of  Jay's  treaty 


228  THE  LIFE   OF 

gave  new  cause  of  offence.  While  the 
French  ministers  in  this  country  scarcely 
kept  within  the  bounds  of  civility  toward 
the  federal  government,  our  ministers  to 
France  were  either  not  received,  or  re 
ceived  to  be  insulted,  and  our  commerce 
was  surrendered  a  hopeless  prey  to  the 
public  cruisers  and  the  privateers  of  the 
Republic. 

It  was  necessary  that  outrages  like 
these,  of  which  the  injury  was  great,  and 
the  shame  worse  than  the  injury,  should 
at  length  have  an  end.  The  despatches 
of  our  envoys  to  France,  detailing  the 
affronts  which  had  been  put  upon  them 
and  their  country,  were  laid  before  Con 
gress  ;  and  a  just  resentment  was  kindled 
in  that  body  and  throughout  the  Union. 
A  suitable  addition  was  voted  to  the 
naval  and  military  force  of  the  United 
States,  and  active  preparations  commenced 
for  the  impending  conflict.  With  the  first 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  229 

serious  alarm  of  an  approaching  struggle 
all  eyes  were  turned  toward  Washing 
ton,  as  the  necessary  leader  of  the  armies 
of  the  country.  No  other  person  was 
thought  of  for  the  chief  command.  Wash 
ington  was  early  prepared  for  the  call 
which  could  not  fail  to  be  made  upon 
him,  by  the  letters  of  his  confidential 
friends;  and  though  sagaciously  predictr 
ing  that  the  French  Directory  would  not 
have  the  madness  to  push  matters  to  a 
war,  he  avowed  his  purpose  to  obey  the 
call  of  the  country.  After  alluding  to 
his  occupations  at  Mount  Vernon,  he 
adds,  in  writing  to  Hamilton,  "If  a  crisis 
should  arrive  when  a  sense  of  duty  or  a 
call  from  my  country  should  become  so 
imperious  as  to  leave  me  no  choice,  I 
should  prepare  for  relinquishment,  and 
go  with  as  much  reluctance  from  my 
present  peaceful  abode,  as  I  should  go  to 
the  tomb  of  my  ancestors." 

20 


230  THE  LIFE  OF 

The   unwelcome   necessity  presented  it 
self.     Toward  the  close  of  June,  1798,  let 
ters  were   addressed  to  General  Washing 
ton,  both  by  the  president  and  the  secre 
tary  of  war,  tendering   to   him  informally 
the   command   of  the   army   about    to    be 
organized.      His    replies    were    in    unison 
with    the    sentiment  just    quoted,    though 
filled   with   expressions   of  distress   at  the 
thoughts  of  leaving  his  retirement.     Some 
delay   took  place   in   the    transmission   of 
the  letters  of  the   president  and  the  sec 
retary  to   Mount  Vernon,   and   before   the 
answers    to    them    could    be    received    at 
the   seat  of  government,  Washington  had 
been   nominated  to   the   Senate   by   Presi 
dent    Adams,    as    Commander-in-chief    of 
the  armies  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
rank   of  lieutenant-general ;    a   title   never 
conferred    in    any    other   instance    in    the 
United   States,  before   or  since,   except  in 
that   of  General    Scott,  on  whom   it  was 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  231 

justly    bestowed    a    few    years    since    by 
Congress. 

General  Washington  accepted  the  com 
mission,  stipulating  only  that  he  should 
not  take  the  field  till  the  army  was  in 
a  situation  to  need  his  presence,  or  the 
country  was  actually  invaded.  The  Pres 
ident,  however,  in  the  letter  communi 
cating  his  appointment,  had  declared  that 
he  stood  in  urgent  need  of  his  advice 
and  assistance,  and  indeed  "of  his  con 
duct  and  direction  of  the  war;"  and 
Washington  engaged  in  the  organization 
of  the  army,  with  the  spirit  and  energy 
of  earlier  days.  Difficulties  and  embar 
rassments  of  no  ordinary  kind  presented 
themselves ;  but  the  experience  of  two 
wars  and  two  civil  administrations  had 
sufficiently  taught  him  that  these  are, 
unhappily,  at  all  times,  the  conditions  of 
the  public  service.  It  may  be  stated,  in 
general  terms,  that  the  main  difficulties 


232  THE  LIFE   OF 

which  attend  the  administration  of  a  gov 
ernment,  in  peace  or  in  war,  spring  not 
so  much  from  the  necessary  and  intrinsic 
conditions  of  the  public  service,  as  from 
the  selfishness  and  the  passions  of  indi 
viduals,  and  the  madness  of  parties. 

There  is  a  suggestion  in  a  long  and 
very  interesting  letter  to  the  secretary 
of  war,  of  the  4th  of  July,  1799,  written 
in  reply  to  the  overtures  above  alluded 
to,  which  shows  that  the  newly  appointed 
Commander-in-chief  was  fully  aware  of 
the  tremendous  risks  to  which  his  mili 
tary  reputation  might  be  exposed.  He 
had  evidently  reflected  on  the  possibil 
ity  that  he  might  be  brought  into  actual 
conflict  with  the  youthful  French  chief 
tain,  who  had  already  filled  the  world 
with  the  rumor  of  his  military  genius, 
in  those  campaigns  of  1796  and  1797,  to 
which  Europe  had  seen  no  parallel  since 
the  days  of  Julius  Caesar.  After  some 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  233 

modest  allusions  to  his  advancing  years, 
Washington,  in  the  letter  referred  to, 
says,  "I  express  these  ideas  not  from  af 
fectation,  for  I  despise  everything  that 
carries  that  appearance,  but  from  the  be 
lief,  that  as  it  is  the  fashion  of  the  pres 
ent  day,  set  or  adopted  by  the  French, 
(with  whom  we  are  to  contend,)  and  with 
great  and  astonishing  success  too,  to  ap 
point  generals  of  juvenile  years  to  lead 
their  armies,  it  might  not  be  impossible 
that  similar  ideas  and  wishes  might  per 
vade  the  minds  of  our  citizens."  It  was 
his  often  repeated  sentiment,  that  if  the 
French  attempted  to  gain  a  foothold  in 
the  country  they  must  not  be  permitted 
to  land ;  and  his  reference  to  their  youth 
ful  commanders  shows  that  he  must  have 
contemplated  the  probability  that,  in  the 
event  of  a  war,  he  should  be  brought  in 
direct  collision  with  the  youngest  and 
most  successful  of  them,  —  the  hero  of 

20* 


234  THE  LIFE   OF 

Arcole  and  Lodi.     But  the  "man  of  des 
tiny"  had  been   led  by  his  star  in  anoth 
er  direction,   and   the   man   of  Providence 
was   not   called   to   meet  him  in  the  field. 
Four  days  before   the   letter  of  Washing 
ton,  just  cited,  was  written,  Napoleon  had 
landed  at  Alexandria.    The  Directory  saw, 
before    it  was    too    late,    the    madness    of 
their   proceedings,   and   showed   a   willing 
ness    to    retrace    their    steps,   by   an    inti 
mation    that    another     mission     from    the 
United    States    would     be    honorably    re 
ceived.     They  might  with   propriety  have 
been  required  by  this  government  to  take 
the   initiative   in  the   work   of  peace,  and 
to  send  their  own  envoys  to  this  country. 
But  the  United  States  were  then  a  feeble 
power,    and    the    administration    was    har 
assed    by    dissensions    among    its    political 
friends,    and    by   a    formidable    opposition. 
President    Adams    probably    adopted    the 
more  prudent  course   in  closing  with  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  235 

overture  of  the  Directory.  In  the  mean 
time  the  wheel  of  fortune  was  revolving : 
the  bloody  game  of  Egypt  had  been 
played  out ;  Napoleon  had  returned  to 
France ;  the  Directory  had  sunk  before 
him ;  and  his  brother  Joseph,  on  the 
30th  of  September,  1800,  concluded  with 
Messrs.  Ellsworth,  Davy,  and  Murray,  a 
treaty  of  peace. 


236  THE  LIFE   OF 


CHAPTER   X. 

Sudden  Attack  of  Illness  in  December,  1799  — Rapid 
Progress  and  Fatal  Termination  of  the  Disease  —  Pub 
lic  Mourning  —  Emancipation  of  his  Slaves  by  Will  — 
Mount  Vernon  —  Personal  Appearance  and  Habits  — 
Religious  Opinions  —  General  Views  of  his  Character 
-Testimony  of  Lord  Erskine,  of  Mr.  Fox,  of  Lord 
Brougham,  of  Fontanes,  and  Guizot — His  Military 
Character  —  Natural  Temperament  —  Genius  for  the 
Conduct  of  Affairs  —  Final  Estimate. 

THE  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  France  was  a  fulfilment  of  his  an 
ticipations,  which  Washington  did  not  live 
to  witness.  His  illustrious  life  was  draw 
ing  unexpectedly  to  a  close.  December, 
1799,  found  him  apparently  in  unusual 
health.  His  favorite  nephew  Lewis,  writ 
ing  of  him  as  he  appeared  to  himself  and 
a  friend  at  that  time,  says,  "  The  clear 
and  healthy  flush  on  his  cheek  and  his 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  237 

sprightly  manner  brought  the  remark 
from  both  of  us,  that  we  had  never  seen 
the  General  look  so  well.  I  have  some 
times  thought  him  decidedly  the  hand 
somest  man  I  ever  saw."  On  the  10th 
of  December,  1799,  he  completed  the 
draught  of  an  elaborate  plan  for  the 
management  of  his  plantations,  laying 
down  the  rotation  of  the  crops,  for  a 
succession  of  years  in  advance.  The 
morning  of  that  day  was  clear  and  calm, 
but  the  afternoon  was  lowering.  The 
next,  the  llth  of  December,  was  a  blus 
tering,  rainy  day;  and  at  night,  says  the 
diary,  "there  was  a  large  circle  round 
the  moon." 

The  morning  of  the  12th  was  overcast. 
Washington's  last  letter  was  written  that 
morning.  It  was  to  Hamilton,  and  prin 
cipally  on  the  subject  of  a  military 
academy.  At  ten  o'clock  he  rode  out 
as  usual  over  his  farms.  "  About  one 


238  THE  LIFE   OF 

o'clock/'  he  remarks  in  his  diary,  "it 
began  to  snow,  soon  after  to  hail,  and 
then  turned  to  a  settled,  cold  rain."  He 
was,  however,  protected  by  an  outside 
coat,  and  remained  in  the  saddle  five 
hours. 

On  franking  the  letters  brought  to  him 
for  that-  purpose  by  his  secretary,  he  said 
the  weather  was  too  bad  to  send  a  ser 
vant  to  the  post-office,  which  was  at 
Alexandria,  nine  miles  off.  His  secretary, 
Mr.  Lear,  from  whose  narration  these 
minute  details  are  derived,  perceiving 
that  snow  was  clinging  to  his  hair  be 
hind,  expressed  his  fears  that  his  neck 
must  be  wet.  He  said  it  was  not,  that 
his  greatcoat  had  kept  him  dry.  He 
went  to  dinner,  which  had  been  kept 
waiting  for  him,  without  changing  his 
dress,  and  in  the  evening  appeared  as 
well  as  usual. 

There    were    three    inches    of  snow    on 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  239 

the  ground  on  the  morning  of  Friday, 
the  13th,  and  it  continued  to  fall.  In 
consequence  of  this  state  of  the  weather, 
and  of  a  sore  throat  of  which  he  com 
plained,  evidently  the  result  of  his  ex 
posure  the  day  before,  Washington  omit 
ted  his  usual  morning  ride  around  his 
plantations.  It  cleared  up,  however,  in 
the  afternoon,  and  he  went  out  to  mark 
some  trees,  which  were  to  be  cut  down 
for  the  improvement  of  the  grounds,  be 
tween  the  river  and  the  house.  He  had 
a  hoarseness  upon  him  at  this  time,  which 
increased  in  the  evening,  but  he  made 
light  of  it.  This  was  the  last  time  that 
he  left  his  house. 

The  newspapers  were  brought  from  the 
post-office  in  the  evening,  and  he  passed 
it  in  the  parlor  reading  them.  At  nine 
o'clock  Mrs.  Washington  went  up  to  the 
room  of  her  grand-daughter,  Mrs.  Lewis, 
(who  was  confined,)  leaving  the  General 


240  THE    LIFE    OF 

and  Mr.  Lear  together.  He  was  very 
cheerful,  and  when  he  found  anything  of 
interest  read  it  aloud,  as  well  as  his 
hoarseness  would  permit.  He  requested 
Mr.  Lear  to  read  aloud  the  debates  in  the 
Virginia  Assembly  on  the  election  of  sen 
ator  and  governor ;  and  discovered  some 
feeling  at  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Madison, 
respecting  Mr.  Monroe.  When  he  retired 
for  the  night,  Mr.  Lear  advised  him  to 
take  something  for  his  cold.  He  an 
swered,  "  No,  you  know  I  never  take 
anything  for  a  cold;  let  it  go  as  it 
came."  These  were  the  last  words,  hope 
ful  of  health,  which  passed  his  lips. 

Saturday,  the  14th,  was  the  last  day  of 
his  life ;  it  was  long  and  full  of  suffer 
ing.  Between  two  and  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  he  awoke  Mrs.  Washing 
ton,  telling  her  he  had  had  an  ague-fit, 
and  was  very  unwell.  He  could  then 
scarcely  speak,  and  breathed  with  diffi- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  241 

culty.  Thoughtful  of  others  even  in  this 
emergency,  he  would  not  allow  her  to 
get  up  to  call  a  servant,  for  fear  of  her 
taking  cold.  At  daybreak,  Caroline  the 
servant  came  to  make  a  fire,  and  was 
sent  by  her  mistress  to  call  Mr.  Lear. 
Hastening  to  the  General's  chamber,  Mr. 
Lear  found  him  breathing  with  difficulty, 
and  hardly  able  to  articulate.  He  de 
sired  that  his  friend  and  physician,  Dr. 
Craik,  who  lived  in  Alexandria,  should 
be  sent  for,  and  that  in  the  mean  time 
Mr.  Rawlins,  one  of  the  overseers,  should 
bleed  him. 

A  soothing  mixture  was  prepared  for 
his  throat,  but  he  was  unable  to  swallow 
the  smallest  quantity.  The  effort  to  do 
so  caused  distress,  —  almost  suffocation. 
Rawlins  came  soon  after  sunrise,  and  pre 
pared  to  bleed  him.  "When  the  arm  was 
ready,  Washington,  perceiving  that  he  was 
agitated,  said,  as  plainly  as  he  could, 
21 


242  THE  LIFE   OF 

"Don't  be  afraid;"  and  when  the  vein 
was  opened,  observed,  "  The  orifice  is  not 
large  enough."  The  blood  flowed  pretty 
freely;  but  Mrs.  Washington,  fearful  that 
bloodletting  might  not  be  proper,  begged 
that  much  should  not  be  taken.  When 
Mr.  Lear,  however,  was  about  to  untie 
the  ligature,  the  General  raised  his  hand 
to  prevent  it,  saying,  "More,  more."  Mrs. 
Washington  being  still  anxious  lest  he 
should  suffer  by  the  loss  of  blood,  about 
half  a  pint  only  was  taken.  His  throat 
was  now  bathed  with  sal  volatile,  and  his 
feet  placed  in  warm  water;  but  without 
affording  any  relief.  When  the  hand  of 
the  attendant  was  gently  applied  to  his 
throat,  he  said,  "It  is  very  sore."  About 
eight  o'clock  he  rose  and  was  dressed;  — 
but  he  found  no  relief  from  the  change 
of  position,  and  at  ten  returned  to  his 
bed. 

The   alarm  rapidly  increasing,  a  physi- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  243 

cian  was  sent  for  from  Port  Tobacco,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river ;  but  between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock  Dr.  Craik  arrived. 
He  immediately  applied  a  blister  to  the 
throat,  took  more  blood,  and  had  a  gar 
gle  prepared,  which,  however,  the  patient 
was  wholly  unable  to  use.  Other  reme 
dial  applications  were  attempted,  but 
without  effect.  At  eleven  o'clock  a  third 
physician  was  sent  for;  and  in  the  mean 
time  the  General  was  again  bled.  No 
benefit  resulted  from  this  treatment,  and 
he  remained  unable  to  swallow. 

About  three  o'clock  Drs.  Dick  and 
Brown  arrived ;  and  after  consultation, 
the  sufferer  was  for  the  fourth  time  bled. 
The  blood  came  thick  and  slow,  but  its 
loss  produced  no  faintness.  He  was  now 
able  to  swallow  a  little,  and  active  medi 
cines  were  administered,  but  without  ben 
eficial  effect. 

About  half-past  four  o'clock  Mrs.  Wash- 


244  THE   LIFE   OF 

ington  was  called  to  his  bedside,  and  he 
requested  her  to  go  to  his  room  and 
bring  from  his  desk  two  wills,  which  she 
did.  He  looked  at  them,  handed  her  one 
to  burn  as  useless,  and  gave  the  other 
into  her  possession. 

After  this,  Mr.  Lear  returned  to  his 
bedside  and  took  his  hand.  "I  find," 
said  the  General,  "I  am  going.  My 
breath  cannot  last  long.  I  believed  from 
the  first  that  the  disorder  would  prove 
fatal.  Do  you  arrange  and  record  all 
my  late  military  letters  and  papers.  Ar 
range  my  accounts  and  settle  my  books, 
and  let  Mr.  Eawlins  finish  recording  my 
other  letters,  which  he  has  begun."  He 
then  asked  Mr.  Lear  if  he  recollected 
anything  which  it  was  essential  for  him 
to  do,  as  he  had  but  a  very  short  time 
to  continue  with  them.  Mr.  Lear  ex 
pressed  the  hope  that  he  was  not  so 
near  his  end.  He  observed,  with  a  smile, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  245 

that  he  certainly  was,  and  that,  as  it  was 
the  debt  which  we  must  all  pay,  he 
looked  to  it  with  perfect  resignation. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  he  was 
helped  up,  and  after  sitting  about  half 
an  hour,  desired  to  be  undressed  again, 
and  put  to  bed.  Perceiving  his  servant 
Christopher,  who  had  been  in  attendance 
most  of  the  day,  to  be  standing,  he 
thoughtfully  told  him  to  be  seated.  In 
the  course  of  the  afternoon,  he  suffered 
great  pain  from  the  difficulty  of  breath 
ing,  and  desired  frequently  to  change  his 
position  in  bed.  On  these  occasions  his 
secretary  lay  by  his  side,  in  order  to 
turn  him  with  as  much  ease  as  possible. 
He  was  touched  with  these  attentions, 
and  said,  "I  am  afraid  I  shall  fatigue 
you  too  much ;  it  is  a  debt  we  must  pay 
to  each  other,  and  I  hope,  when  you 
want  aid  of  this  kind,  you  will  find  it." 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Dr. 
21  * 


246  THE  LIFE  OF 

Craik  came  again  into  the  room,  and 
upon  his  going  to  the  bedside  the  Gen 
eral  said  to  him,  "Doctor,  I  die  hard,  but 
I  am  not  afraid  to  go.  I  believed  from 
my  first  attack,  that  I  should  not  sur 
vive  it.  My  breath  cannot  last  long." 
Dr.  Craik,  his  companion  on  the  field  of 
battle  and  his  friend  through  life,  per 
ceiving  that  the  last  hour  was  near, 
pressed  the  hand  of  Washington,  but 
could  not  speak,  and  left  the  bedside  in 
speechless  grief. 

Between  five  and  six,  the  three  physi 
cians  approached  his  bedside.  Dr.  Craik 
asking  if  he  could  sit  up  in  bed,  he  held 
out  his  hand  and  was  raised  up.  He 
then  said  to  the  physicians,  u  I  feel  my 
self  going;  I  thank  you  for  your  atten 
tions;  but  I  pray  you  to  take  no  more 
trouble  about  me.  Let  me  go  off  quiet 
ly  ;  I  cannot  last  long."  He  lay  down 
again;  restless  and  suffering,  but  without 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  247 

complaining,  frequently  asking  what  hour 
it  was. 

About  eight  o'clock  the  physicians 
again  came  into  the  room,  and  applied 
blisters  and  cataplasms  to  the  legs.  At 
ten  o'clock  he  made  several  attempts  to 
speak  to  Mr.  Lear,  but  for  some  time 
without  success.  At  length  he  said,  "I 
am  fast  going ;  have  me  decently  buried ; 
and  do  not  let  my  body  be  put  into  the 
vault,  till  three  days  after  I  am  dead." 
Mr.  Lear,  unable  to  speak,  bowed  assent. 
He  then  spoke  again  and  said,  "Do  you 
understand  me?"  Mr.  Lear  replied  that 
he  did.;  and  Washington  said,  "It  is 
well." 

These  were  the  last  words  which  he 
uttered.  Between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock, 
and  about  ten  minutes  before  he  died, 
his  breathing  became  easier.  He  lay 
quietly,  withdrew  his  hand  from  Mr. 
Lear's,  and  felt  his  own  pulse.  At  this 


248  THE   LIFE   OF 

moment  his  countenance  changed,  his 
hand  fell  from  his  wrist,  and  he  expired 
without  a  struggle.  Mrs.  Washington, 
who  was  seated  at  the  foot  of  the  bed, 
said  in  a  collected  voice,  "  Is  he  gone  ? " 
A  signal  from  Mr.  Lear  gave  the  answer. 
"  It  is  well,"  she  said ;  "  all  is  now  over ; 
I  shall  soon  follow  him ;  I  have  no  more 
trials  to  pass  through." 

The  disease  of  which  General  Washing 
ton  died  was  what  is  now  technically 
called  "acute  laryngitis,"  a  disease  of 
very  rare  occurrence,  and  at  that  time 
not  discriminated  from  other  inflamma 
tory  diseases  of  the  throat.  The ,  mourn 
ful  interest  which  attaches  to  the  closing 
scenes  of  this  illustrious  career,  has  .led 
the  author  of  these  pages  to  solicit  from 
the  venerable  Dr.  James  Jackson,  of  Bos 
ton,  a  professional  memoir  on  the  subject 
of  his  disease  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  treated  by  his  attendant  physi- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  249 

cians*  "During  his  whole  illness,"  says 
Mr.  Lear,  in  the  memorandum  from 
which  the  foregoing  account  is  taken 
almost  verbatim,  "he  spoke  but  seldom, 
and  with  great  difficulty  and  distress; 
and  in  so  low  and  broken  a  voice,  as  at 
times  hardly  to  be  understood.  His  pa 
tience,  fortitude,  and  resignation  never 
forsook  him  for  a  moment.  In  all  his 
distress  he  uttered  not  a  sigh  nor  a  com 
plaint  ;  always  endeavoring,  from  a  sense 
of  duty,  as  it  appeared,  to  take  what 
was  offered  to  him,  and  to  do  as  he  was 
desired  by  his  physician." 

On  the  18th  of  December,  followed  by 
the  sorrowing  members  of  his  family,  by 
his  friends,  and  neighbors,  his  mortal  re 
mains  were  deposited  in  the  family  vault 
at  Mount  Vernon,  where  they  still  rest. 
In  consequence  of  the  suddenness  of 
the  event,  the  news  of  his  illness  and 

*  See   Appendix,  No.  I. 


250  THE  LIFE   OF 

of  his  death  went  out  at  once  to  the 
country;  and  fell  like  the  tidings  of  a 
domestic  sorrow  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Appropriate  resolutions,  drawn  by 
General  Lee,  one  of  the  members  from 
Virginia,  were,  in  his  absence,  moved  by 
his  colleague,  Mr.  John  Marshall,  after 
wards  chief  justice  of  the  United  States, 
expressive  of  the  public  sorrow  at  the 
loss  of  him,  who  was  "first  in  war,  first 
in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
fellow-citizens."  The  tributes  of  respect 
paid  to  his  memory  by  Congress  were 
repeated  by  the  state  legislatures,  the 
courts,  the  municipal  bodies,  the  seats  of 
learning,  and  the  associations  of  every 
description  throughout  the  Union;  and 
all  the  people  mourned. 

We  have  already  seen  that  a  few  hours 
before  his  death  Washington  sent  to  his 
study  for  two  wills,  which,  when  brought, 
were  handed  by  him  to  Mrs.  Washington, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  251 

one  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  other  pre 
served  by  her.  As  he  had  kept  them 
both  to  the  close  of  his  life,  it  may  be 
supposed  that,  in  conformity  with  his 
strictly  methodical  business  habits,  the 
two  wills  had  been  prepared  by  him, 
to  meet  respectively  the  contingencies  of 
surviving  his  wife  or  dying  before  her. 
Although,  as  he  frequently  observes  in 
his  correspondence,  his  affairs  had  greatly 
suffered  by  his  long  absences  from  home, 
he  left  a  large  estate.  He  inherited  a 
small  property  from  his  father;  his  elder 
brother  bequeathed  to  him  the  estate  of 
Mount  Vernon;  he  received  a  large  ac 
cession  of  wealth  with  his  wife ;  and  he 
made  extensive  purchases  of  unimproved 
lands,  not  only  in  Virginia  but  in  several 
other  states,  some  of  which  probably  rose 
in  value.  A  schedule  appended  to  his 
will,  of  that  part  of  his  property  which 
was  to  be  sold  for  distribution  among  his 


252  THE  LIFE   OF 

general  heirs,  amounts,  as  estimated  by 
him,  to  something  more  than  half  a 
million  of  dollars.  The  larger  part  of 
his  estate  was  specifically  bequeathed, 
and  must  have  more  than  equalled  this 
amount.  President  Adams  the  elder,  writ 
ing  to  a  friend  in  Massachusetts,  at  the 
time  of  Washington's  election  as  Com 
mander-in-chief,  in  1775,  speaks  of  him 
as  "a  gentleman  of  one  of  the  finest  for 
tunes  upon  the  continent."  It  is  proba 
ble  that  many  of  the  unimproved  lands, 
though  possessing  a  speculative  value, 
were  unproductive ;  and  of  stocks  and 
other  property  yielding  a  fixed  in 
come  the  amount  appears  to  have  been 
small. 

By  the  third  item  of  the  will,  which 
was  made  about  six  months  before  his 
death,  General  Washington  provided  that, 
upon  the  decease  of  his  wife,  all  the 
slaves  held  by  him  in  his  own  right  should 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  253 

receive  their  freedom.  "  To  emancipate 
them  during  her  life,"  the  will  proceeds, 
"would,  though  earnestly  desired  by  me, 
be  attended  with  such  insuperable  diffi 
culties,  on  account  of  their  intermixture 
by  marriage  with  the  dower  negroes,  as 
to  excite  the  most  painful  sensations,  if 
not  disagreeable  consequences,  to  the  lat 
ter,  wrhile  both  descriptions  are  in  the 
occupancy  of  the  same  proprietor,  it  not 
being  in  my  power,  under  the  tenure  by 
which  the  dower  negroes  are  held,  to 
manumit  them."  For  those  emancipated, 
who  from  old  age  or  bodily  infirmity 
should  be  unable  to  support  themselves, 
the  will  directs  that  a  comfortable  pro 
vision  of  food  and  clothing  while  they 
lived  should  be  made  by  his  heirs.  Those 
who  were  too  young  to  support  them 
selves,  and  who  had  no  parents  able  or 
willing  to  support  them,  were  to  be 
bound  by  the  court  till  they  were 
22 


254  THE  LIFE   OF 

twenty-five  years  of  age ;  were  to  be 
taught  to  read  and  write  by  the  masters 
to  whom  they  were  bound ;  and  brought 
up  to  some  useful  occupation.  The  will 
expressly  forbids  the  sale  or  transporta 
tion  out  of  Virginia  of  any  slave  of 
whom  he  might  die  possessed,  under  any 
pretence  whatsoever,  and  it  enforces  the 
general  intentions  of  the  testator  in  the 
following  stringent  terms :  "  And  I  do 
moreover  most  pointedly  and  solemnly 
enjoin  upon  my  executors  .  .  to  see  that 
this  clause  respecting  slaves  and  every 
part  thereof  be  religiously  fulfilled  at  the 
epoch  at  which  it  is  directed  to  take 
place,  without  evasion,  neglect,  or  delay, 
after  the  crops  which  may  then  be  in 
the  ground  are  harvested,  particularly  as 
it  respects  the  aged  and  infirm ;  seeing 
that  a  regular  and  permanent  fund  be 
established  for  their  support,  as  long  as 
there  are  subjects  requiring  it ;  not  trust- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  255 

ing  to  the  uncertain  provision  to  be 
made  by  individuals." 

For  his  favorite  servant  Billy,  who  at 
tended  him  throughout  the  revolutionary 
war,  a  special  provision  was  made  in  the 
following  terms,  and  with  characteristic 
precision :  — 

"To  my  mulatto  man  William,  call 
ing  himself  William  Lee,  I  give  immedi 
ate  freedom,  or  if  he  should  prefer  it, 
(on  account  of  the  accidents  which  have 
befallen  him,  and  which  have  rendered 
him  incapable  of  walking,  or  of  any  active 
employment,)  to  remain  in  the  situation 
he  now  is,  it  shall  be  optional  in  him  to 
do  so ;  in  either  case,  however,  I  allow 
him  an  annuity  of  thirty  dollars,  during 
his  natural  life,  which  shall  be  indepen 
dent  of  the  victuals  and  clothes  he  has 
been  accustomed  to  receive,  if  he  chooses 
the  last  alternative ;  but  in  full  with  his 
freedom  if  he  prefers  the  first;  and  this 


THE  LIFE  OF 

I  give  him  as  a  testimony  of  my  sense 
of  his  attachment  to  me,  and  for  his 
faithful  services  during  the  revolutionary 
war." 

The  estate  of  Mount  Vernon  was  be 
queathed  to  his  nephew,  Bushrod  Wash 
ington,  (the  son  of  the  General's  younger 
and  favorite  brother,  John  A.  Washing 
ton,)  afterwards  one  of  the  associate  jus 
tices  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States.  This  bequest  was  made,  in  the 
words  of  the  testator,  "partly  in  consider 
ation  of  an  intimation  to  his  deceased 
father,  while  we  were  bachelors,  and  he 
had  kindly  undertaken  to  superintend 
my  estate,  during  my  military  services  in 
the  former  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  France,  that,  if  I  should  fall  therein, 
Mount  Yernon,  then  less  extensive  in  do 
main  than  at  present,  should  become  his 
property."  On  the  decease  of  Mr.  Jus 
tice  Washington  without  children,  it  came 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  257 

into  the  possession  of  a  nephew,  who  be 
queathed  it  to  his  widow.  Her  son,  John 
A.  Washington,  is  the  present  incumbent. 
Two  years  since,  a  contract  was  entered 
into  between  Mr.  John  A.  Washington 
and  "The  Ladies'  Mount  Vernon  Associa 
tion  of  the  Union/'  for  the  purchase  of 
two  hundred  acres  of  the  estate,  includ 
ing  the  mansion-house  and  the  tomb, 
for  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
greater  part  of  the  stipulated  purchase- 
money  has  been  already  paid. 

We  have,  in  the  foregoing  memoir, 
aimed  to  present  the  reader  with  a  com 
prehensive  though  necessarily  greatly  con 
densed  sketch  of  the  principal  events 
of  the  life  of  Washington,  as  the  best 
means  of  conveying  an  adequate  impres 
sion  of  his  character.  As  his  active  life 
covers  very  nearly  half  a  century  of  the 
most  important  period  in  the  history  of 

22* 


258  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  Anglo-American  colonies  and  of  the 
United  States,  and  as  he  was  himself  in 
timately  associated  with  the  events  of 
greatest  consequence  while  he  was  on 
the  stage,  it  was  manifestly  necessary  to 
pass  rapidly  over  the  ground.  Much  has 
of  necessity  been  omitted,  and  much  su 
perficially  narrated.  The  works  of  the 
standard  authors  mentioned  in  the  pref 
ace  have  furnished  most  of  the  materials 
of  the  foregoing  narrative ;  and  their  own 
words  have  been  sometimes  borrowed. 
The  reader  will  perhaps  wish  that  this 
had  been  done  oftener. 

General  Washington's  personal  appear 
ance  was  in  harmony  with  his  character; 
it  was  a  model  of  manly  strength  and 
beauty.  He  was  about  six  feet  two 
inches  in  height,  and  his  person  w^ell- 
proportioned,  —  in  the  earlier  part  of  life 
rather  spare,  and  never  too  stout  for 
active  and  graceful  movement.  The  com- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  259 

plexion  inclined  to  the  florid ;  the  eyes 
were  blue  and  remarkably  far  apart ;  a 
profusion  of  brown  hair  was  drawn  back 
from  the  forehead,  highly  powdered  ac 
cording  to  the  fashion  of  the  day,  and 
gathered  in  a  bag  behind.  He  was  scru 
pulously  neat  in  his  dress,  and  while 
in  camp,  though  he  habitually  left  his 
tent  at  sunrise,  he  was  usually  dressed 
for  the  day.  His  strength  of  arm,  and 
his  skill  and  grace  as  a  horseman,  have 
been  already  mentioned.  His  power  of 
endurance  was  great,  and  there  were  oc 
casions,  as  at  the  retreat  from  Long 
Island  and  the  battle  of  Princeton,  when 
he  was  scarcely  out  of  his  saddle  for 
two  days.  Punctilious  in  his  observ 
ance  of  the  courtesies  of  society  as  prac 
tised  in  his  day,  he  was  accustomed, 
down  to  the  period  of  his  inauguration 
as  President,  at  the  balls  given  in  his 
honor,  to  take  part  in  a  minuet  or  coun- 


260  THE   LIFE   OF 

try-dance.  His  diary  uniformly  records, 
sometimes  with  amusing  exactness,  the 
precise  number  of  ladies  present  at  the 
assemblies,  at  which  he  was  received  on 
his  tours  through  the  Union.  His  gen 
eral  manner  in  large  societies,  though 
eminently  courteous,  was  marked  by  a 
certain  military  reserve.  In  smaller  com 
panies  he  was  easy  and  affable,  but  not 
talkative.  He  was  frequently  cheered 
into  gayety,  at  his  fireside,  by  the  con 
tagious  merriment  of  the  young  and 
happy,  but  often  relapsed  into  a  thought 
ful  mood,  moving  his  lips,  but  uttering 
no  audible  sound. 

Washington's  religious  impressions  were 
in  harmony  with  the  rest  of  his  charac 
ter, — deep,  rational,  and  practical.  On  this 
topic,  our  remaining  space  admits  of  little 
more  than  a  reference  to  the  interesting 
article  on  this  subject  in  the  fourth  sec 
tion  of  the  appendix  to  Mr.  Sparks's 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  261 

twelfth  volume.  Washington  was  brought 
up  in  the  Episcopal  communion,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  vestry  of  two  churches. 
He  was  at  all  times  a  regular  attendant 
on  public  worship,  and  an  occasional  par 
taker  of  the  communion;  and  is  Believed 
habitually  to  have  begun  the  day  with 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer 
in  his  closet.  His  private  correspondence, 
his  general  orders,  and  his  public  acts  of 
all  kinds  contain  devout  recognitions  of  a 
divine  Providence  in  the  government  of 
the  world,  and  his  whole  life  bears  wit 
ness  to  the  influence  of  a  prevailing 
sense  of  religious  responsibility.  In  his 
last  moments  he  breathed  a  truly  pious 
spirit  of  resignation.  In  his  own  affect 
ing  words,  he  died  "hard,"  but  he  was 
"not  afraid  to  go."  Though  prevented, 
by  the  rapid  progress  of  his  disease, 
and  the  almost  total  obstruction  of  the 
vocal  organs,  from  expressing  his  feel- 


262  THE  LIFE   OF 

ings,  he  manifested  to  the  last  the  sub 
mission  of  a  sincere  Christian  to  the  will 
of  the  great  Disposer. 

Posterity  will  not  be  left  without  a 
faithful  representation  of  his  person.  The 
statue  'by  Houdon  in  the  capitol  at  Rich 
mond,  modelled  at  the  age  of  fifty-three, 
is  the  accepted  embodiment  of  his  coun 
tenance  and  form,  and  has  been  followed 
substantially  by  all  his  successors,  in  sev 
eral  monumental  works  of  distinguished 
merit.  A  series  of  portraits  by  able  ar 
tists,  from  the  age  of  thirty-eight  onwards, 
delineate  him  under  all  the  modifications 
of  feature  and  person  gradually  induced 
by  the  advance  of  years.* 

In  the  final  contemplation  of  his  char 
acter,  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  pronounce 

*  An  instructive  enumeration  and  description  of  the 
portraits  of  Washington,  preceded  by  an  extremely  judi 
cious  essay  on  his  character,  will  be  found  in  a  mono 
graph  entitled  Character  and  Portraits  of  Washington, 
by  Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  Esq. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  263 

Washington,  of  all   men   that   have    ever 

lived,    THE    GREATEST    OF     GOOD     MEN    AND    THE 

BEST  OF  GREAT  MEN.  Nor  let  this  judg 
ment  be  attributed  to  national  partiality. 
In  the  year  1797,  Mr.  Eufus  King,  then 
the  American  minister  in  London,  wrote 
to  General  Hamilton,  "  No  one,  who  has 
not  been  in  England,  can  have  a  just  idea 
of  the  admiration  expressed  among  all 
parties  for  General  Washington.  It  is  a 
common  observation,  that  he  is  not  only 
the  most  illustrious,  but  the  most  meri 
torious  character  that  has  yet  appeared." 
Lord  Erskine,  in  writing  to  Washington 
about  the  same  time,  says,  "  You  are  the 
only  human  being  for  whom  I  ever  felt 
an  awful  reverence."  Mr.  Charles  James 
Fox  remarks  of  him,  that  "A  character 
of  virtues,  so  happily  tempered  by  one 
another  and  so  wholly  unalloyed  by  any 
vices,  as  that  of  Washington,  is  hardly  to 
be  found  on  the  pages  of  history."  Lord 


264  THE  LIFE   OF 

Brougham,    in    his    brilliant    comparative 
sketch  of  Napoleon  and  Washington,  after 
a    glowing    picture    of    the    virtues    and 
vices  of  the   great  modern  conqueror,  ex 
claims,    "How    grateful    the    relief,    which 
the   friend   of  mankind,   the   lover   of  vir 
tue,   experiences,  when,  turning  from   the 
contemplation    of    such    a    character,    his 
eye  rests  upon  the   greatest  man   of  our 
own  or   of  any  age,  the   only  one   upon 
whom    an    epithet,    so    thoughtlessly    lav 
ished    by    men,    may    be    innocently    and 
justly   bestowed!"     Nor    are    these    testi 
monies  confined   to   Englishmen,  in  whom 
they   might   be   supposed   to    be   inspired, 
in    some    degree,    by    Anglo-Saxon    sym 
pathy.      When    the    news    of    his    death 
reached    France,    Fontanes,    by    direction 
of  Napoleon,  delivered  an   eloquent   eulo- 
gium,   in    which   he    declared    him    to    be 
"a    character    worthy    the    best    days    of 
antiquity."     M.   Guizot,  a   far   higher   au- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  265 

thority,  in  his  admirable  essay  on  the 
character  of  Washington,  pronounces  that 
"  Of  all  great  men  he  was  the  most  vir 
tuous  and  the  most  fortunate." 

The  comparison  of  Napoleon  and  Wash 
ington  suggests  a  remark  on  the  military 
character  of  the  latter,  who  is  frequently 
disparaged  in  contrast  with  the  great 
chieftains  of  ancient  and  modern  times. 
But  no  comparison  can  be  instituted  to 
any  valuable  purpose  between  individuals, 
which  does  not  extend  to  the  countries 
and  periods  in  which  they  lived  and  to 
the  means  at  their  command.  When 
these  circumstances  are  taken  into  the 
account,  Washington,  as  a  chieftain,  I  am 
inclined  to  think,  will  sustain  the  com 
parison  with  any  other  of  ancient  or  mod 
ern  time.  A  recent  judicious  French  writer 
(M.  Edouard  Laboulaye),  though  greatly 
admiring  the  character  of  Washington, 
denies  him  the  brilliant  military  genius 

23 


266  THE   LIFE  OF 

of  Julius  CaBsar.     It   is,   to   say   the   least, 
as    certain    that   Julius    Csesar,    remaining 
in  other  respects  what   he  was,  could  not 
have   conducted   the  American  Eevolution 
to  a  successful   issue,   as   that  Washington 
could  not  have   subdued  Gaul,  thrown  an 
army    into    Great    Britain,    or    gained    the 
battle    of   Pharsalia.      No    one    has    ever 
denied   to   Washington    the    possession    of 
the  highest  degree   of  physical  and  moral 
courage;    no    one    has    ever    accused    him 
of  missing  an  opportunity  to  strike  a  bold 
blow;  no  one   has   pointed  out  a  want  of 
vigor    in    the    moment    of    action,    or    of 
forethought    in    the     plans     of    his    cam 
paigns;    in    short,    no    one    has    alleged    a 
fact,    from    which    it    can    be    made    even 
probable    that    Napoleon   or   Csesar,   work 
ing   with   his   means   and   on   his   field   of 
action,    could    have    wrought    out    greater 
or   better   results  than   he   did,  or  that,  if 
he   had  been   placed  on  a  field   of  action 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  267 

and  with  a  command  of  means  like  theirs, 
he  would  have  shown  himself  unequal  to 
the  position. 

There  is,  in  this  respect,  a  great  mis 
take  on  the  subject  of  Washington's  tem 
perament,  which  was  naturally  sanguine. 
Traditionary  accounts,  which  must,  how 
ever,  be  received  with  great  caution  as 
far  as  particular  anecdotes  are  concerned, 
authorize  the  belief  that,  in  early  life  at 
least,  he  habitually  waged  a  strenuous  war 
fare  with  his  own  ardent  temper.  At  all 
events,  while  he  was  placed  in  circum 
stances,  in  both  his  wars,  which  forced 
upon  him  the  Fabian  policy,  there  were 
occasions,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  narra 
tion,  when  he  seized  the  opportunity 
of  making  what,  if  it  had  failed,  would 
have  been  called  a  rash  movement.  This 
showed  him  the  possessor  of  an  expan 
sive  capacity ;  conforming  patiently  to 
straits,  and  keeping  good  heart  in  ad- 


268  THE   LIFE  OF 

versity,     but     ready     at     a     moment     of 
change    to    move    with   vigor    and    power. 
When    we    add    to    this    an    unquestioned 
fondness   for  the  military   profession,  who 
can   doubt    that,    if  he    had   been  trained 
in    the    great  wars    of  Europe,    he   would 
have    proved    himself   equal    to    their    se 
verest    tests?      It    is    a    remarkable    fact, 
that  from   his   youth    upward   he   evinced 
military   capacity  beyond   that   of  all   the 
trained     and     experienced     officers,     with 
whom    he    was    associated    or    brought    in 
conflict.      The    neglect    of    his    advice    in 
1755  cost  the  veteran  Braddock  his  army 
and   his  life,  and  threw  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  into  the  power   of  the   French;  and 
all    the    skill    and    energy    visible    in    the 
operations  of  General  Forbes  by  which  it 
was  recovered   in   1758,  were  infused  into 
them   by  Washington. 

Akin  to  the  argument   against  his  mili 
tary    capacity,    is    the    question    whether, 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  269 

generally  speaking,  Washington  was  a  man 
of  genius, — a  question  not  to  be  answered 
till  that  word  is  explained.  Dr.  Johnson 
calls  it,  "that  power  which  constitutes  a 
poet,"  and  in  that  acceptation  Washington 
certainly  was  not  endowed  with  it.  As 
little  did  he  possess  the  genius  of  the 
orator,  the  man  of  letters,  the  sculptor, 
the  painter,  the  musician.  The  term  is 
so  habitually,  not  to  say  exclusively,  ap 
propriated  to  that  native  power  which 
enables  men  to  excel  in  science,  litera 
ture,  and  the  fine  arts,  that  those  who 
are  destitute  of  it  in  these  departments 
are  often  declared  to  want  it  altogether. 
But  there  is  a  genius  of  political  and 
military  skill  ;  of  social  influence,  of 
personal  ascendency,  of  government ;  — 
a  genius  for  practical  utility;  a  moral 
genius  of  true  heroism,  of  unselfish  pa 
triotism,  and  of  stern  public  integrity, 
which  is  as  strongly  marked  an  endow- 

23* 


270  THE  LIFE   OF 

ment  as  those  gifts  of  intellect,  imagina 
tion,  and  taste,  which  constitute  the  poet 
or  the  artist.  Without  adopting  Virgil's 
magnificent  but  scornful  contrast  between 
scientific  and  literary  skill,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  those  masterful  arts  on  the 
other,  by  which  victories  are  gained  and 
nations  are  governed,  we  must  still  ad 
mit  that  the  chieftain  who,  in  spite  of 
obstacles  the  most  formidable,  and  vicissi 
tudes  the  most  distressing,  conducts  great 
wars  to  successful  issues,  —  that  the  states 
man  who  harmonizes  angry  parties  in 
peace,  skilfully  moderates  the  counsels 
of  constituent  assemblies,  and,  without  the 
resources  of  rhetoric  but  by  influence 
mightier  than  authority,  secures  the  for 
mation  and  organization  of  governments, 
and  in  their  administration  establishes 
the  model  of  official  conduct  for  all  fol 
lowing  time,  is  endowed  with  a  divine 
principle  of  thought  and  action,  as  dis- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  271 

tinct  in  its  kind  as  that  of  Demosthenes 
or  Milton.  It  is  the  genius  of  a  con 
summate  manhood.  Analysis  may  de 
scribe  its  manifestations  in  either  case, 
but  cannot  define  the  ulterior  principle. 
It  is  a  final  element  of  character.  We 
may  speak  of  prudence,  punctuality,  and 
self-control,  of  bravery  and  disinterested 
ness,  as  we  speak  of  an  eye  for  color 
and  a  perception  of  the  graceful  in  the 
painter,  a  sensibility  to  the  sublime,  the 
pathetic,  and  the  beautiful  in  discourse; 
but  behind  and  above  all  these  there 
must  be  a  creative  and  animating  princi 
ple  ;  at  least  as  much  in  character  as  in 
intellect  or  art.  The  qualities  which  per 
tain  to  genius  are  not  the  whole  of 
genius  in  the  one  case  any  more  than 
the  other.  The  arteries,  the  lungs,  and 
the  nerves  are  essential  to  life,  but  they 
are  not  life  itself, — that  higher  something, 
which  puts  all  the  organic  functions  of 


272      LIFE   OF  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

the  frame  in  motion.  In  the  possession 
of  that  mysterious  quality  of  character, 
manifested  in  a  long  life  of  unambitious 
service,  which,  called  by  whatever  name, 
inspires  the  confidence,  commands  the 
respect,  and  wins  the  affection  of  con 
temporaries,  and  grows  upon  the  admira 
tion  of  successive  generations,  forming  a 
standard  to  which  the  merit  of  other 
men  is  referred,  and  a  living  proof  that 
pure  patriotism  is  not  a  delusion,  nor 
virtue  an  empty  name,  no  one  of  the 
sons  of  men  has  equalled  GEORGE  WASH 
INGTON. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 

MKMOIR  ON  THE  LAST  SICKNESS  OF  GENERAL  WASH 
INGTON  AND  ITS  TREATMENT  BY  THE  ATTENDANT 
PHYSICIANS.  BY  JAMES  JACKSON,  M.  D. 

THE  death  of  General  Washington  took  place  unexpect 
edly  after  an  illness  of  less  than  forty-eight  hours.  He  was 
in  his  sixty-eighth  year,  but  had  not  begun  to  show  much  of 
the  infirmities  of  age.  Under  the  exposures  of  the  active 
period  of  his  life,  and  again  shortly  after  he  had  engaged  in 
the  heavy  cares  and  responsibilities  of  office  in  1789,  he  had 
undergone  severe  acute  diseases ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  had  been  suffering  under  any  wearing  or  wasting  chronic 
malady.  His  faithful  biographer,  Mr.  Sparks,  says  of  him, 
that  "  Since  his  retirement  from  the  presidency,  his  health 
had  been  remarkably  good  ;  and  although  age  had  not  come 
without  its  infirmities,  yet  he  was  able  to  endure  fatigue,  and 
make  exertions  of  body  and  mind  with  scarcely  less  ease  and 
activity  than  he  had  done  in  the  prime  of  his  strength."  * 
Such  being  the  case,  the  circumstances  of  his  short  disease, 
its  character  viewed  scientifically,  and  the  propriety  of  the 
treatment  adopted  by  his  physicians,  have  all  been  ascer- 

*  Sparks's  Life  of  Washington,  p.  528. 


274  APPENDIX. 

taincd  and  discussed ;  and  the  remedies  employed  have  been 
spoken  of  by  some  persons  in  terms  of  strong  reprobation. 

We  derive  the  only  original  account  of  his  disease  from 
a  statement  made  out  by  Colonel  Lear  within  twenty-four 
hours  after  his  decease,  with  an  attestation  to  the  correctness 
of  this  account  made  at  the  time,  "  so  far  as  he  could  recol 
lect,"  by  his  excellent  friend  and  physician,  Dr.  Craik.  This 
account  has  the  appearance  of  accuracy  and  fidelity.  It  is 
consistent  with  itself,  and  accords  with  what  is  now  known 
to  belong  to  the  disease  which  cut  short  the  days  of  this 
great  man. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  1799,  he  was  abroad  on  his 
farms,  on  horseback,  from  10  o'clock  A.  M.  to  3  p.  M.  ;  and 
"soon  after  he  went  out  the  weather  became  very  bad, 
rain,  hail,  and  snow  falling  alternately,  with  a  cold  wind." 
To  the  watchful  eyes  of  his  family  there  were  no  appearances 
of  disease,  though  they  looked  for  them,  until  the  next  day. 
He  then  complained  of  a  sore  throat,  and  it  became  evident 
that  he  had  taken  cold ;  "  he  had  a  hoarseness,  which  increased 
in  the  evening;  but  he  made  light  of  it."  So  far  from  feel 
ing  anything  like  serious  illness  on  this  13th  of  December,  he 
seems  to  have  been  kept  from  "  riding  out,  as  usual,"  only 
by  a  snow-storm.  In  the  afternoon  he  went  out  of  the  house 
to  look  after  some  work,  which  was  not  of  an  urgent  charac 
ter.  He  passed  his  evening  as  usual,  and  did  not  seem  to  be 
aware  that  his  cold  was  uncommonly  severe.  When  Colonel 
Lear  proposed  at  bedtime  that  he  should  take  "  something 
to  remove  his  cold,"  he  answered,  "  No,  you  know  I  never 
take  anything  for  a  cold ;  let  it  go  as  it  came." 

It  was  in  this  night  that  his  sickness  arrested  his  attention. 
He  was  taken  with  an  ague,  and,  between  two  and  three 
o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  (the  14th,)  he  awoke  Mrs. 
Washington  and  told  her  that  he  was  very  unwell.  He  then 
had  great  difficulty  in  breathing,  speaking,  and  swallowing. 


APPENDIX.  275 

These  are  the  symptoms  which  are  characteristics,  the  es 
sential  characteristics,  of  his  disease.  They  continued  till 
his  death,  which  took  place  between  10  and  11  o'clock  in 
the  following  night.  There  seem  to  have  been  some  hours 
during  which  he  did  not  swallow  anything,  in  consequence 
of  the  distress  attending  any  effort  to  do  it.  It  was  also  so 
difficult  to  speak,  that  he  did  that  only  when  he  thought  it 
important,  and  as  briefly  as  was  consistent  with  his  habitual 
care  to  be  distinct  and  definite  in  his  expressions.  It  was 
the  breathing,  however,  which  caused  him  most  distress.  In 
regard  to  that  the  patient  cannot  choose,  as  he  can  in  re 
spect  to  speaking  and  swallowing.  The  efforts  which  he  was 
compelled  to  make  in  breathing  were  extremely  distressing, 
and  occasioned  great  restlessness ;  —  the  more  because  his 
strongest  efforts  were  insufficient  to  supply  his  lungs  with  as 
much  air  as  his  system  had  need  of.  It  was  from  the  inabil 
ity  to  do  this  that  death  ensued.  He  was  in  fact  strangu 
lated  by  the  closure  of  the  windpipe,  as  much  as  if  a  tight 
cord  had  been  twisted  around  his  neck.  His  intellect  re 
mained  unclouded,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  he  showed 
to  the  last  those  strong  and  great  characteristics  of  mind  and 
heart,  by  which  his  whole  life  had  been  marked. 

What  was  this  disease  which  cut  down  a  strong  man  in  so 
short  a  time  ?  It  was  such  as  has  cut  down  very  many,  no 
doubt,  in  times  past ;  but  it  is  a  rare  disease.  It  had  not,  at 
the  time  of  Washington's  death,  been  clearly  described,  so  as 
to  be  distinguished  from  other  diseases  about  the  throat.  It 
is  now  well  known  under  the  name  of  acute  laryngitis;  — 
inflammation  of  the  larynx,  —  the  upper  part  of  the  wind 
pipe.  It  was  about  1810  that  this  morbid  affection  was  first 
brought  into  notice  and  distinctly  described  by  Dr.  Matthew 
Baillie,  of  London,  confessedly,  while  he  lived,  at  the  head  of 
his  profession  in  that  great  city.  He  published  two  cases 
seen  by  himself,  both  of  them  within  a  short  period,  both  in 


276  APPENDIX. 

medical  men,  and  one  of  them  a  very  dear  friend  of  his. 
To  these  he  added  a  third  case  reported  to  him  by  a  practi 
tioner  in  London,  which  was  evidently  like  the  other  two. 
He  ascertained  the  morbid  changes,  by  which  these  persons 
had  been  suddenly  deprived  of  life,  by  examinations  after 
death.  It  was  ascertained  by  these  examinations,  as  it  has 
been  by  many  made  since  in  similar  cases,  that  the  disease 
consists  in  an  inflammation  in  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
whole  larynx,  including  the  epiglottis ;  but  that  this  inflam 
mation  is  not  limited  to  the  mucous  membrane.  It  extends 
to  the  cellular  membrane  subjacent  to  the  other,  indeed  to  all 
the  soft  parts,  including  the  muscles ;  and  perhaps,  in  some 
degree,  to  the  cartilages.  From  these  morbid  changes  the 
epiglottis  is  disabled  from  the  free  and  ready  motion  essential 
to  its  office,  which  is  that  of  guarding  the  windpipe  from 
the  admission  of  substances  passing  through  the  pharynx. 
Hence  one  of  the  difficulties  in  swallowing,  probably  the 
greatest.  In  such  a  state  the  attempt  to  swallow  any  sub 
stance,  liquid  or  solid,  would  be  attended  by  an  instinctive 
effort  of  the  epiglottis  to  shut  up  the  larynx,  as  it  always 
does  in  health  during  the  act  of  swallowing.  But  this  in 
stinctive  effort  must  cost  great  pain ;  and  it  is  an  effort 
which  could  not  succeed  in  the  most  severe  state  of  the  dis 
ease.  Thus  the  principal  difficulty  in  swallowing  is  ex 
plained.  Another  difficulty  in  swallowing  arises  from  the 
state  of  the  pharynx.  The  inflammation  of  the  larynx  pass 
ing  over  its  posterior  part,  in  some  if  not  all  cases,  spreads 
to  the  pharynx,  and  disables  that  part  from  performing  its 
office  in  carrying  down  the  liquids  or  solids  brought  to  it. 

Just  below  the  entrance  to  the  larynx  we  find  the  delicate 
structures  belonging  to  the  organ  of  the  voice,  and  here  is 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  air  tube.  In  these  parts,  a  com 
mon  acute  inflammation  of  their  mucous  membrane  will  cause 
soreness  and  hoarseness;  but  when  the  disease  extends  to 


APPENDIX.  277 

the  subjacent  cellular  membrane,  so  that  all  these  parts  are 
thickened  by  the  distention  of  the  small  bloodvessels,  and 
the  more  if  there  take  place  an  effusion  of  any  fluid  into 
this  cellular  membrane,  it  is  seen  at  once  how  these  soft 
parts  must  be  swollen.  Now  this  swelling  occasions  a  diffi 
culty,  if  not  an  impossibility,  of  motion  in  the  delicate  parts 
belonging  to  the  organ  of  the  voice,  and  accounts  for  the 
difficulty  and  at  length  the  impossibility  of  speaking.  At 
the  same  time  we  see  how  the  passage  of  the  air  is  impeded, 
and  at  last  entirely  obstructed,  producing  the  difficulty  of 
breathing  and  at  length  the  strangulation. 

Thus  this  disease,  so  suddenly  destructive  of  life,  is  among 
the  most  simple  in  its  nature.  One  readily  understands  that 
his  fingers  may  be  inflamed,  that  is,  become  red,  swollen,  in 
durated  in  all  the  soft  parts,  and  painful,  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  make  motion  in  them  very  difficult  and  at  length  impossi 
ble.  But  all  this  may  take  place  without  interfering  with 
functions  important  to  life.  But  let  the  organs,  by  which 
the  voice  is  formed  and  through  which  the  air  must  be 
passed  for  the  supply  of  the  lungs,  —  the  organs  through 
which  the  breath  of  life  must  have  an  open  road,  —  let  these 
organs  be  swollen  and  rigid  so  as  to  block  up  this  passage, 
and  we  readily  comprehend  that  life  may  be  arrested  in 
young  or  old,  in  the  strong  as  well  as  in  the  feeble,  in  a  very 
short  space  of  time.  It  follows  that  the  only  question  in  a 
disease  of  this  kind,  as  it  occurs  in  adults,  is  whether  we  can 
prevent  or  remove  the  fatal  obstruction  which  has  been  de 
scribed  as  characteristic  of  this  disease. 

There  are,  however,  some  further  remarks  to  be  made  on 
the  disease,  before  discussing  the  treatment  of  it.  Any  one 
conversant  with  the  subject  will  see  at  once  how  much  acute 
laryngitis  resembles  the  common  affection  which  we  all 
know  as  a  sore  throat  from  a  cold.  Though  the  words  a 
cold  are  employed  with  reference  to  any  disease  which  is 
24 


278  APPENDIX. 

thought  to  arise  from  an  exposure  to  a  change  of  tempera 
ture,  or  to  cold  and  damp  weather,  they  are  most  commonly 
used  in  reference  to  an  attack  in  the  nose,  or  in  the  wind 
pipe.  These  are  called  colds  in  the  head,  or  colds  in  the 
throat.  The  cold  in  the  throat  is  marked  by  a  sense  of 
slight  soreness  in  that  part,  (especially  felt  in  deglutition  and 
in  coughing),  and  by  hoarseness  in  the  voice.  Some  cough 
soon  follows  and  presently  an  expectoration  of  matter,  at 
first  watery  and  afterwards  thick  and  glutinous,  and  more  or 
less  opaque.  In  these  cases  there  is  an  inflammation  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  larynx.  The  disease  may  begin 
in  the  nasal  passages,  when  it  is  commonly  called  a  cold  in 
the  head,  or  a  nasal  catarrh  ;  and  this  does  most  frequently 
take  place  first ;  but  whichever  part  is  affected  first,  the  in 
flammation  may  extend  from  this  to  the  other.  Further, 
when  the  larynx  is  affected,  the  inflammation  may  also  pass 
downward  to  the  bronchi,  which  are  the  ramifications  of  the 
windpipe  in  the  lungs.  Then  the  disease  gets  the  name  of 
pulmonary  catarrh,  or  bronchitis. 

To  one  who  understands  the  above  statement,  it  will  be 
plain  that  the  cold  in  the  throat,  when  there  take  place 
soreness  in  the  throat,  hoarseness,  a  slight  difficulty  in  deglu 
tition,  and  more  or  less  cough,  —  in  other  words,  a  hoarse  sore 
throat,  is  the  same  thing  as  the  acute  laryngitis.  It  is  assur 
edly  the  same  thing,  except  in  degree.  In  the  disease  first 
described,  the  laryngitis,  the  inflammation  is  more  severe, 
and  it  is  not  confined  to  the  mucous  membrane,  but  extends 
to  the  other  tissues.  The  mucous  membrane  may  be  called 
an  internal  skin;  and  like  the  skin  it  is  connected  with 
other  parts  by  a  cellular  membrane.  Now  if  the  skin  be 
inflamed  in  its  external  surface  only,  in  one  man,  and  in 
another  an  inflammation  of  the  skin  should  pass  through  it 
into  the  subjacent  cellular  membrane,  the  swelling  would  be 
much  more  in  this  last  case  than  in  the  first.  The  greater 


APPENDIX.  279 

swelling  in  the  second  case  would  be  attended  with  more 
general  affection  of  the  system  than  would  occur  in  the  first 
one.  So  far  the  difference  between  the  common  affection 
of  the  larynx,  in  ordinary  colds,  and  that  in  the  severe  dis 
ease  under  consideration,  is  illustrated  by  the  supposed  in 
flammation  in  the  skin  in  the  two  men.  But  there  is  one 
great  difference.  The  swelling  of  the  skin  is  not  productive 
of  any  serious  inconvenience ;  not  so  in  the  larynx.  That  is 
the  tube  through  which  the  air  passes  to  the  lungs  in  respi 
ration,  and  in  one  part  the  passage  is  very  narrow.  In  this 
part  the  swelling  must  occupy  the  calibre  of  the  tube ;  in 
fatal  cases  it  fills  up  the  air  passage ;  and  the  effect  of  this 
is  the  same  as  if  a  cord  were  tied  very  tightly  around  the 
neck.  As  the  passage  is  filling  up,  the  air  passes  with  more 
and  more  difficulty,  and  at  last  it  cannot  pass  at  all.  Even 
this,  however,  does  not  state  quite  the  whole.  In  the  last 
hours  of  life,  the  lungs  do  not  get  air  enough  to  produce  the 
requisite  change  in  the  blood ;  and  likewise  the  carbonic  acid 
gas,  which  is  an  excretion  from  the  blood,  and  is  usually  dis 
charged  at  once  from  the  lungs,  is  retained  in  some  measure 
and  acts  as  a  poison.  From  this  imperfect  renewal  of  the 
blood,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  arises  the  livid  counte 
nance  in  the  last  hours ;  and  under  this  state  of  the  blood 
every  part  of  the  body  is  constantly  losing  its  vigor.  Thus, 
before  the  larynx  is  absolutely  blocked  up,  the  muscles  of 
respiration  become  incapable  of  the  effort  requisite  to  ex 
pand  the  thorax,  and  death  ensues,  although  there  may 
be  a  very  small  passage  still  left  open  at  the  last  moment 
of  life. 

We  are  prepared  now  to  consider  the  treatment  proper  in 
acute  laryngitis,  in  connection  with  that  adopted  in  the  case 
under  consideration.  It  has  been  thought  by  many  persons, 
medical  and  non-medical,  that  General  Washington  was  not 
treated  judiciously;  and  some,  perhaps,  believe  that  by  a 


280  APPENDIX. 

different  treatment  his  life  might  have  been  preserved. 
Sixty  years  have  passed  since  his  decease,  and  the  disease, 
which  was  fatal  to  him,  is  understood  now  much  more  per 
fectly  than  it  was  in  1799.  To  what  result  have  we  ar 
rived?  Has  any  treatment  proved  to  be  more  successful 
than  that  adopted  in  his  case  ?  He  was  bled,  he  was  blis 
tered,  and  calomel  and  antimony  were  administered  inter 
nally.  Whether  these  remedies  were  employed  early  enough, 
and  whether  to  too  great  an  extent,  or  not  sufficiently,  are 
questions  to  which  we  will  return  presently. 

What  was  the  treatment  adopted  by  Dr.  Baillie  in  the 
cases  of  his  medical  friends  ?  He  directed  bleeding,  both 
general  and  local,  and  his  patients  not  only  agreed  with  him, 
but,  being  medical  men,  directed  it  for  themselves  in  his  ab 
sence.  This  happened  at  a  period  comparatively  near  to 
that  of  Washington's  case. 

What  do  the  best  teachers  say  at  the  present  day  ?  To 
answer  this  question  fully  and  accurately  would  require 
great  research.  One  need  not,  however,  hesitate  to  say, 
generally,  that  they  recommend  bleeding  and  blistering.  In 
addition,  the  English  teachers  advise  the  use  of  mercurials 
carried  to  the  point  of  salivation,  and  our  own  did  the  same 
until  very  lately.  Some  of  them,  perhaps,  do  it  now.  Some, 
if  not  many,  would  add  antimony  and  opium  to  the  calomel, 
or  other  preparations  of  mercury. 

We  believe  that  the  lectures  by  Dr.  Watson  of  London 
are  received,  as  good  authority,  by  as  many  persons  who 
speak  the  English  language,  as  the  work  of  any  writer  of 
our  time  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine.  In  the 
last  edition  of  his  lectures  he  advises  bleeding  freely  at 
an  early  period  of  acute  laryngitis,  with  the  qualifications 
which  every  discreet  and  experienced  practitioner  would 
assent  to.  So  far,  then,  it  would  seem  that  the  treatment 
adopted  by  Dr.  Craik  and  his  medical  coadjutors  is  the  same, 


APPENDIX.  281 

which  has  been,  and  is  now  directed  by  physicians  of  the 
first  standing. 

Let  us  look  into  this  matter  somewhat,  and  see  whether 
bloodletting  in  acute  laryngitis  appears  to  be  a  rational 
practice.  To  what  cause  is  the  danger  to  life  to  be  attribut 
ed  in  this  disease?  The  answer  has  already  been  given. 
The  danger  arises  from  the  filling  up  of  a  part  of  the  wind 
pipe.  In  what  way,  or  by  what  material  is  the  windpipe 
filled  up  ?  By  an  extra  quantity  of  blood  in  the  small  ves 
sels  of  the  part,  similar  to  what  most  persons  may  have  seen 
in  a  violent  inflammation  of  the  external  surface  of  the  eye. 
By  this  blood  in  the  first  instance,  and  in  part,  is  the  tube 
filled  up ;  but  further,  by  the  effusion  under  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  larynx  of  a  watery  liquid,  called  serum,  or 
serous  fluid.  When  a  man  is  bled  largely  he  usually  be 
comes  pale.  This  happens  because  the  small  vessels  of  the 
external  surface  contract  under  the  loss  of  blood,  and  the 
skin  is  seen  to  be  white,  or  sallow,  according  to  the  complex 
ion  of  the  individual.  If,  in  the  disease  under  consideration, 
the  small  bloodvessels  in  the  morbid  part  will  contract  as 
those  of  the  skin  do,  after  the  abstraction  of  blood,  we  may 
hope  for  relief,  as  long  as  that  contraction  is  maintained. 
Not  only  so ;  it  will  be  found  that  if  this  contraction  takes 
place  in  the  diseased  part,  the  effusion  of  serous  fluid  is 
more  readily  absorbed  than  it  would  otherwise  be. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  effect,  here  described,  on  the 
small  bloodvessels  in  the  morbid  part,  is  not  certain  to  take 
place  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  blood.  The  success  of 
the  measure  depends  mainly  on  the  period  of  the  disease, 
at  which  the  bleeding  takes  place.  The  chance  of  success 
is  great  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  inflammatory  process ; 
but  it  is  less,  the  later  the  period  at  which  the  remedy  is 
employed.  There  is  not,  however,  any  other  measure  by 
which  effectual  relief  is  so  likely  to  be  produced  as  by  blood- 
24* 


282  APPENDIX. 

letting.  If  anything  else  can  be  equally  effectual,  in  so  short 
a  space  of  time,  it  must  be  some  local  applications  to  the  part 
affected.  There  are  cases  of  disease  in  the  larynx,  where 
nitrate  of  silver  and  other  articles  may  perhaps  be  applied  to 
the  parts  affected,  with  great  benefit.  But  in  the  irritable 
state  of  the  part  in  question,  in  this  acute  disease,  such  ap 
plications  must  be  attended  with  very  great  difficulty,  and 
apparently  with  great  hazard.  The  success  of  this  treatment 
in  cases  of  ulceration  in  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  larynx, 
in  a  chronic  disease,  does  not  prove  what  would  happen  in 
the  acute  disease  under  consideration. 

But  there  is  a  difficulty  which  ordinarily  attends  the  bleed 
ing  in  this  disease,  to  which  may  be  attributed  the  failure  in 
the  largest  proportion  of  cases,  in  which  it  has  been  tried. 
It  is  that  the  disease  usually  commences  under  the  familiar 
form  of  a  common  cold  in  the  throat,  so  that  at  first  no  alarm 
is  felt.  Nor  ought  there  to  be  an  alarm  in  such  a  case.  It 
has  been  shown  above  that  such  an  inflammation  as  occurs 
in  a  common  hoarse  cold  may  suddenly  increase  in  impor 
tance  by  extending  from  the  mucous  membrane  or  tissue,  to 
the  surrounding  tissues,  especially  to  the  subjacent  cellular 
membrane.  Then  comes  the  tumefaction,  which,  acting  me 
chanically,  blocks  up  the  passage  of  the  air  into  the  lungs.  It 
is  in  this  first  stage,  before  the  fatal  extension  of  the  inflam 
mation  has  occurred,  that  the  disease  might  be  the  most 
easily  arrested.  But  who  would  advise  the  active  treatment 
requisite  for  this  purpose  in  every  case  of  a  hoarse  cold, 
which  is  the  first  stage  ?  In  every  such  case  the  severe  dis 
ease  may  ensue.  But  what  is  the  chance  that  it  will  ensue  ? 
A  very  large  proportion  of  persons,  probably  three  quarters 
of  the  community  among  us,  have  such  a  cold  once  a  year, 
and  not  a  few  have  such  an  attack  twice  or  three  times  in  a 
year;  but  the  change  into  the  severe  disease,  called  acute 
laryngitis,  is  among  the  most  rare  occurrences.  It  does  not 


APPENDIX.  283 

take  place  in  one  case  out  of  a  million.  But  if  it  happened  in 
one  case  in  a  hundred,  it  would  not  be  justifiable  to  resort  to 
a  severe  treatment  in  each  one  of  a  hundred  cases,  in  order 
to  save  one  of  them  from  the  fatal  change.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  every  discreet  man  would  choose  to  incur  the 
slight  hazard  of  the  severe  disease,  rather  than  to  resort  to  a 
copious  bleeding  every  time  he  had  a  hoarse  sore  throat. 
Washington  was  evidently  familiar  with  a  cold  in  his  throat 
in  his  sixty-eighth  year,  as  other  men  are.  He  probably  had 
never  suspected  the  possible  issue  of  such  a  cold.  But  if  he 
had  been  told  that  the  chance  of  such  an  issue  was  one  in  a 
million,  or  even  one  in  a  hundred,  would  he  have  consented 
to  a  copious  bleeding  ?  We  think  not. 

Here  we  see  the  real  difficulty.  At  the  time  when  the 
danger  is  manifested,  the  disease  is  not  strictly  new ;  it  has 
not  just  commenced.  In  looking  over  the  histories  of  cases 
of  acute  laryngitis  we  find  that  the  disease,  under  the  form 
of  a  hoarse  cold,  has  existed  from  a  few  hours  to  a  few  days, 
before  it  arrives  at  the  state  when  danger  to  life  is  suspected. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  bleeding,  at  that  stage  of  the  dis 
ease,  can  be  relied  on,  as  it  might  have  been  in  the  very 
commencement.  Yet  this  remedy,  even  then,  affords  a  chance 
of  relief,  and  the  more  when  the  disease  has  not  remained 
long  in  the  first  stage.  In  Washington's  case  the  first  stage 
was  of  short  duration.  Bleeding  was  resorted  to  early,  by 
his  own  direction.  But  that  bleeding  was  nominal.  His 
wife  objected  to  it,  because  the  patient  was  old,  and  the 
bleeding  had  not  been  directed  by  a  physician.  We  must 
give  her  the  credit  of  exercising  a  wise  caution.  Of  course 
she  did  not  understand  the  nature  of  the  disease ;  she  did 
not  suspect  how  rapidly  it  was  pressing  forward  to  a  fatal 
termination.  Even  the  delay  of  the  three  or  four  hours 
which  had  already  passed  away  since  he  waked  her  up  in 
the  night,  was  a  most  serious  loss.  When  Dr.  Craik  reached 


284  APPENDIX. 

him  some  hours  afterwards,  he  prescribed  a  new  venesection. 
He  was  right ;  it  is  in  such  circumstances  that  the  anceps  re- 
medium  is  justifiable.  What  would  medical  critics,  what 
would  posterity  have  said,  if  this  good  doctor,  when  such  a 
patient  was  in  his  hands,  in  imminent  danger  from  an  affec 
tion  which  was  manifestly  due  to  inflammation,  had  folded 
his  arms,  and  said,  "  There  is  no  possibility  of  giving  relief; 
but  you  may  let  him  inhale  the  vapor  from  some  herb  tea  "  ? 

Although  bloodletting  is  the  great  remedy,  there  are  other 
modes  of  treatment  which  may  be  employed  in  aid  of  it,  or 
without  it.  Calomel  and  antimony,  usually  with  the  addition 
of  opium,  are  thought  by  many  physicians  to  be  proper  arti 
cles  for  the  relief  of  this  laryngitis.  Colonel  Lear  says  that 
calomel  and  antimony  were  given  to  General  Washington, 
but  he  does  not  say  in  what  doses,  nor  whether  more  than 
once.  There  is  not  any  reason  to  believe  that  they  were 
given  in  large  doses ;  though  I  think  Dr.  Craik  and  his  coad 
jutors  have  been  reproached  on  this  score.  In  1799  the  use 
of  mercurials  in  inflammatory  diseases  was  very  rare,  I  be 
lieve,  in  Great  Britain,  though  it  was  very  common  in  this 
country.  At  the  present  day  the  reverse  is  true.  At  least 
in  New  England  the  practice  is  now  relied  on  much  less 
than  in  old  England.  Fashions  change,  it  must  be  acknowl 
edged,  in  medicine  as  in  other  things.  Probably  the  result, 
at  the  end  of  another  fifty  years,  will  be  that  mercurials  will 
not  be  administered  in  either  country  as  freely  as  they  have 
been  heretofore,  but  that  they  will  not  be  abandoned  alto 
gether. 

It  would  not  be  well  to  go  further  into  the  subject  on  this 
occasion.  We  have  considered  the  bloodletting  more  fully 
perhaps  than  was  quite  necessary,  but  it  has  been  to  defend 
the  reputation  of  Dr.  Craik  and  his  medical  friends,  who 
we  think  did  as  well,  at  least,  as  any  of  their  critics  would 
have  done  in  the  like  case.  We  must  acknowledge  an  un- 


APPENDIX.  285 

willingness  not  to  think  well  of  Dr.  Craik,  who  was  the  per 
sonal  friend  of  Washington  through  his  life.* 

Passing  by  some  other  modes  of  treatment  of  acute  laryn 
gitis,  we  should  not  omit  to  notice  one,  on  which  much  reliance 
is  placed  at  the  present  day,  when  it  becomes  obvious  that  all 
other  remedies  are  ineffectual.  This  consists  in  an  opening 
into  the  trachea,  below  the  diseased  part.  In  this  way  life 
may  be  prolonged  while  a  chance  is  afforded  for  the  sub 
sidence  of  the  disease  by  a  natural  process,  after  which  the 
wound  may  be  allowed  to  heal  up.  This  practice  has  been 
resorted  to  with  success  in  various  instances  of  obstructions 
in  the  windpipe,  and  especially  of  late  in  croup.  In  this 
disease  of  children  and  in  the  acute  laryngitis  of  adults,  it  is 
important  that  the  surgical  operation  should  be  performed 
before  the  vital  powers  have  been  too  much  exhausted  by 
the  painful  and  wearing  struggles  for  life. 

But  it  is  time  to  bring  this  note  to  a  close.  On  some 
points  the  writer  has  gone  into  a  minute  statement  of 
particulars,  and  into  a  discussion  of  principles,  as  to  the 
pathology  and  as  to  the  therapeutics.  But  this  has  been 
done  only  so  far  as  seemed  to  him  necessary  to  make  the 
subject  understood  by  non-professional  men ;  not  with  any 
pretence  to  bring  into  view  all  that  relates  to  the  disease  or 
its  treatment.  If  he  seem  to  have  lingered  on  the  subject 
too  long,  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  interest  which  is 
inspired  by  every  circumstance  in  the  life  of  Washington, 
attaches,  with  melancholy  intensity,  to  the  disease  by  which 
it  was  suddenly  brought  to  a  close. 
BOSTON,  March,  1860. 


286  APPENDIX. 


No.  II. 

fThe  following  is  the  official  inventory  of  the  personal  prop 
erty  at  Mount  Vernon,  taken  by  the  sworn  appraisers 
after  the  decease  of  General  Washington.  It  includes,  as 
will  be  perceived,  a  list  of  the  books  in  his  library.  Some 
portions  of  the  inventory,  containing  the  appraisal  of  the 
articles  in  most  of  the  bedrooms  and  in  the  various  do 
mestic  offices,  and  of  the  implements  of  husbandry  and 
stock  on  the  farms,  are  omitted  for  want  of  room.  The 
columns  are  not  footed  up  in  consequence  of  these  omis 
sions,  but  the  sum  total  on  the  last  page  includes  the 
entire  amount  of  the  inventory.] 

AN   INVENTORY   OF    ARTICLES    AT    MOUNT    VERNON,  WITH 
THEIR    APPRAISED    VALUE    ANNEXED. 

In  the  New  Room. 

$     cts. 

2  Large  Looking-glasses 200  00 

4  Silver-plated  Lamps,  &c. 60  00 

6  Mahogany  Knife  Cases 100  00 

2  Sideboards,  on  each  of  which  is  an  Image  and 

China  Flower-pot 1GO  00 

27  Mahogany  Chairs  at  $10 .270  00 

2  Candle  Stands 40  00 

2  Fire-screens 40  00 

2  Elegant  Lustres  ....    12000 

2  Large  gilt-framed  Pictures,  representing  the  Fall 

of  Rivers 160  00 

4  do.  representing  Watercourses,  &c. 240  00 

1  do.  small  Likeness  of  General  Washington 100  00 

1  do.  Louis  XVI. 50  00 

2  do.  Prints,   Death  of   Montgomery 100  00 

2  do.  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill 100  00 


APPENDIX.  287 


$     cts. 

2  Large  gilt-framed  Pictures,  Dead  Soldier 45  00 

1  Likeness  of  St.  John 15  00 

1  do.  Virgin  Mary 15  00 

4  Small  Prints  (one  under  each  Lamp) 8  00 

1  Painting,  Moonlight 60  00 

5  China  Jars 100  00 

All  the  Images 100  00 

1  Mat    10  00 

Window  Curtains 100  00 

2  Round  Stools 6  00 

Shovel,  Tongs,  Poker,  and  Fender 20  00 

In  the  Little  Parlor. 

1  Looking-glass 30  00 

1  Tea-table 8  00 

1  Settee 15  00 

10  Windsor  Chairs 20  00 

2  Prints  representing  Storms  at  Sea 30  00 

1  do.  A  Sea-fight  between  Paul  Jones  of  the  Bon 

Hormne  Richard  and  Captain  Pearson  of  the 

Serapis 10  00 

1  do.  The  distressed  Situation  of  Quebec,  &c. 15  00 

2  do. :  one  The  Whale  Fishery  of  Davis's  Straits 

and  the  other  of  the  Greenlands 20  00 

1  Likeness   of  General   Washington    in   an  oval 

Frame 4  00 

1  do.  Doctor  Franklin 4  00 

1  do.  Lafayette 4  00 

1  Gilt  Frame  of  wrought  Work  containing  Chick 
ens  in  a  Basket 20  00 

1  do.  Likeness  of  a  Deer 5  00 

1  Painted  Likeness  of  an  Aloe - 2  00 

6  Others  of  different  Paintings 12  00 


288  APPENDIX. 


$      Ct8. 

1  Carpet 10  00 

2  Window  Curtains 5  00 

Andirons,  Tongs,  and  Fender 6  00 

In  the  Front  Parlor. 

1  Elegant  Looking-glass 60  00 

1  Tea-table 15  00 

1  Sofa • 70  00 

1 1  Mahogany  Chairs 99  00 

3  Lamps,  two  with  Mirrors 40  00 

5  China  Flower-pots 50  00 

1  Gilt  Frame,  Marquis  Lafayette  and  Family 100  00 

1  do.  General  Washington 50  00 

1  do.  Mrs.  Washington 50  00 

1  do.  Mr.  Lear 80  00 

1  do.  Mrs.  Law    70  00 

1  do.  Mrs.  Washington's  two  Children   50  00 

1  do.  Mrs.  Washington's  Daughter  when  grown-  •  •  •    10  00 
1  Small  oval  Frame  (gilt)  containing  the  Like 
ness  of  Washington  Custis 10  00 

1  do.  George  W.  Lafayette 10  00 

1  do.  General  Washington 10  00 

1  do.  Mrs.  Washington 10  00 

1  Gilt  square  Frame,  the  Likeness  of  Miss  Custis  •  •  10  00 

1  do.  emblematic  of  General  Washington 10  00 

2  Window  Curtains 16  00 

1  Carpet 80  00 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  &c. 8  00 

In  the  Dining-Room. 

1  Oval  Looking-glass 15  00 

1  Mahogany  Sideboard 23  00 

1  Tea-table 2  00 


APPENDIX.  289 


$  eta. 

2  Dining-tables 30  00 

1  Large  Case 10  00 

2  Knife  Cases 6  00 

10  Mahogany  Chairs 50  00 

1  Large  gilt  Frame,  Print,  The  Death  of  the  late 

Earl  of  Chatham 50  00 

1  do.  General  Wolfe 15  00 

1  do.  Penn's  Treaty  with  Indians 15  00 

1  do.  Rittenhouse 5  00 

1  do.  Doctor  Franklin 10  00 

1  do.  General  Washington 7  00 

1  do.  General  Greene 7  00 

1  do.  America 6  00 

1  do.  General  Lafayette,  or  Conclusion  of  the  late 

War 7  00 

1  do.  General  Wayne 7  00 

1  do.  Washington  Family  of  Mount  Vernon 20  00 

1  do.  Alfred  visiting  his  Noblemen 9  00 

1  do.  Alfred  dividing  his  Loaf  with  the  Pilgrim 9  00 

1  Carpet 2  00 

Window  Curtains 2  00 

Water  Pitcher 50 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 8  00 

In  the  Bedroom. 

1  Looking-glass 10  00 

1  Small  Table 5  00 

1  Bed,  Bedstead,  and  Mattress 50  00 

4  Mahogany  or  Walnut  Chairs 8  00 

1  Large  s;ilt  Frame  containing  A  Battle  fought  by 

Cavalry 30  00 

Window  Curtains  and  Blinds 1  50 

1  Carpet 5  00 

25 


290  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 
Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 4  00 

In  the  Passage. 

14  Mahogany  Chairs 70  00 

Print,  Diana  dec'd  by  Venus 5  00 

do.  Adonis  carried  off  by  Venus 5  00 

do.  The  dancing  Shepherds 5  00 

do.  Morning 5  00 

do.  Evening 8  00 

do.  View  of  the  River  Po  in  Italy 8  00 

1  do.  Constantino's  Arch 8  00 

1  do.  General  Washington 25  00 

1  do.  Key  of  Bastile  with  its  Representation 10  00 

1  Thermometer 5  00 

4  Images  over  the  Door 20  00 

1  Spy-glass 5  00 

In  the   Closet  under  the  Staircase. 

1  Fire-screen 2  00 

1  Machine  to  scrape  Shoes  on 2  00 

In  the  Piazza. 
30  Windsor  Chairs 30  00 

From  the  Foot  of  the  Staircase  to  the  Second  Stairs. 

1  Gilt  Frame,  Print,  Musical  Shepherds 10  00 

1  do.  Moonlight 10  00 

1  do.  Thunder-storm 10  00 

1  do.  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill 5  00 

1  do.  Death  of  Montgomery 15  00 

In  the  Passage  on  the  Second  Floor. 
1  Looking-glass 4  00 


APPENDIX.  291 

In  the  First  Room  on  the  Second  Floor. 

$     cts. 

1  Dressing-table 8  00 

6  Mahogany  Chairs 15  00 

Bed,  Bedstead,  and  Curtains 75  00 

Window  Curtains 1  00 

1  Large  Looking-glass 15  00 

1  Print,  Gainsborough  Forest 8  00 

1  do.  Nymphs  Bathing 8  00 

1  do.                    Village 6  00 

1  do.  Storm 7  00 

1  Carpet 5  00 

Wash-basin  and  Pitcher 1  00 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 5  00 

In  the  Second  Room. 

1  Ann-chair 6  00 

Bedstead,  Bed,  Curtains,  and  Window  Curtains-  •  70  00 

1  Looking-glass 15  00 

1  Dressing-table 8  00 

Likeness  of  General  Lafayette 50  00 

1  Carpet 10  00 

4  Chairs 6  00 

Wash-basin  and  Pitcher   1  00 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 4  00 

In  the   Third  Room. 

6  Mahogany  Chairs 24  00 

1  Bed,  Bedstead,  and  Curtains 85  00 

Window  Curtains 1  00 

Chest  of  Drawers 15  00 

1  Looking-glass 6  00 

1  Wash-stand,  Basin,  and  Pitcher 4  00 

Carpet 7  00 


292  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

1  Print,  The  Young  Herdsman 5  50 

I  do.  The  Flight 5  50 

1  do.  Morning 5  50 

1  do.  Evening 5  50 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 4  50 

In  the  Fourth  Room. 

5  Mahogany  Chairs 16  00 

1  Bed,  Bedstead,  and  Curtains 77  50 

Window  Curtains 2  00 

1  Close  Chair 6  00 

1  Pine  Dressing-table 1  00 

Carpet 10  00 

1  Large  Looking-glass  •  •  •  • 15  00 

1  Print,  Sun  Rising 6  00 

1  do.  Sun  Setting 6  00 

1  do.  Cupid's  Pastime  6  00 

1  do.  Cottage  6  00 

1  do.  Herdsman 6  00 

Wash-basin  and  Pitcher 1  50 

Andirons,  Shovel,  Tongs,  and  Fender 4  50 


In  the  Small  Room. 

1  Dressing-table 3  00 

1  Wash-stand 4  00 

3  Windsor  Chairs 1  50 

1  Bed  and  Bedstead 40  00 

1  Dressing-glass 3  00 

Glass  and  China  in  the  China  Closet  and  that 

Up-stairs,  and  also  that  in  the  Cellar 850  00 


APPENDIX.  293 

In  the  Room  Mrs.   Washington  now  keeps. 

$     cts. 

1  Bedstead  and  Mattress  .......................  50  00 

1  Oval  Looking-glass  ..........................  10  00 

1  Fender  •  •  ..................................  2  00 

Andirons,  Shovel,  and  Tongs  .................  2  00 

3  Chairs  .....................................  3  00 

1  Table  .....................................  3  00 

1  Carpet  ...................................  3  00 

In  Mrs.   Washington's  old  Room. 

1  Bed,  Bedstead,  and  Curtains  ..................  70  00 

1  Glass  ......................................  2  00 

1  Dressing-table  ..............................  6  00 

1  Writing-table  ...............................  25  00 

1  Writing  Chair  ..............................  2  00 

1  Easy  Chair  .................................  10  00 

2  Mahogany  Chairs  ...........................  4  00 

A  Timepiece  ...............................  100  00 

1  Chest  of  Drawers  ...........................  30  00 

6  Paintings  of  Mrs.  Washington's  Family  .........  60  00 

5  Small  Drawings  .............................  2  50 

1  Picture,  Countess  of  Huntingdon  .....  .........  75 

1  do.  General  Knox  ...........................  1   00 

1  do.  A  Parson  ...............................  1  00 

5  Small  Pictures  ..............................  2  00 


In  the  Study. 
7  Swords  and  Blades  ..........................  120  00 

4  Canes  .....................................  40  00 

7  Guns  ......................................   35  00 

11  Spy-glasses  .................................  110  00 

25* 


294  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

1  Tin  Canister  of  Drawing-paper 50 

TrumbulPs  Prints     36  00 

1  Case  of  Surveying  Instruments 1 0  00 

1  Travelling  Ink  Case 3  00 

1  Globe 5  00 

1  Chest  of  Tools 15  00 

1  Box  containing  two  Paper  Moulds 25  00 

1  Picture 3  00 

1  Bureau 7  00 

1  Dressing-table 40  00 

1  Tambour  Secretary 80  00 

1  Walnut  Table 5  00 

1  Copying-press   30  00 

1  Compass,  Staff,  and  two  Chains 30  00 

1  Case  of  Dentist's  Instruments 10  00 

1  Old  Copying-press  11   00 

2  Sets  Money  Weights 20  00 

1  Telescope 50  00 

1  Box  of  Paints,  &c. 16  00 

1  Bust  of  General  Washington  in  Plaster,  from 

the  Life 100  00 

1  do.  Marble 50  00 

1  Profile  in  Plaster 25  00 

2  Seals  with  Ivory  Handles 8  00 

1  Pocket  Compass 50 

1  Brass  Level 10  00 

1  Japan  Box  containing  a  Mason's  Apron 40  00 

1  Small  Case  containing  three  Straw  Rings ;  one 

Farmer's  Luncheon-box 1   71 

1  Silk  Sash  (Military) 20  00 

1  Velvet  Housing  for  a  Saddle  and  Holsters,  trim 
med  with  Silver  Lace 5  00 

1  Piece  of  Oil-cloth  containing  Orders  of  Masonry  •  50  00 


APPENDIX.  295 


$     cts. 

Some  Indian  Presents 5  00 

1  Bust  in  Plaster  of  Paul  Jones 20  00 

2  Pine  Writing-tables 4  00 

1  Circular  Chair 20  00 

1  Box  of  Military  Figures 2  00 

1  Brass  Model  Cannon 15  00 

2  Brass  Candlesticks 2  00 

2  Horsewhips 4  00 

1  Pair  of  Steel  Pistols 50  00 

1  Copper  Wash-basin 75 

1  Chest  and  its  Contents,  &c. 100  00 

1  Arm  Chair 2  00 

1  Writing-desk  and  Apparatus 5  00 

1  (Green)  Field-book 25 

Balloon  Flag 1  00 

Tongs,  Shovel,  and  Fender 1  00 

A  Painted  Likeness,  Lawrence  Washington  •  •  •  •  10  00 

1  Oval  Looking-glass 2  00 

3  Pair  of  Pistols 50  00 

In  tJte  Iron   Chest. 

„    (  6  per  cent.  3746       3746 ) 

Stock  Of  the  U.  S.  4  Dr.  deferred  1873  1  .,'      6,246    00 

(  3  per  cent.  2946    j  *ouu  ) 

25  Shares  Stock  of  the  Bank  of  Alexandria 5.000  00 

24  do.  do.  Potomac  Company  (@  £100  stg.) 10,666  00 

Cash 254  70 

1  Set  of  Shoe  and  Knee  Buckles,  Paste  in 

Gold 250  00 

1  Pair  of  Shoe  and  Knee  Buckles,  Silver 5  00 

2  Gold  Cincinnati  Eagles   30  00 

1  Diamond  do. 387  00 

1  Gold  Watch,  Chain,  two  Seals,  and  a  Key  •  •  •  1 75  00 

1  Compass  in  Brass  Case 50 


296  APPENDIX. 


1  Gold  Box  presented  by  the  Corporation  of  . 

New  York  .............................  100  00 

5  Shares  of  James  River  Stock  @  $100  .......  500  00 

170  Shares  of  Columbia  Bank  Stock  @  $40  ......  6,800  00 

1  Large  Gold  Medal  of  General  Washington  •  •  •  150  00 

1  Gold  Medal  of  St.  Patrick  Society  ..........  8  00 

1  Ancient  Medal  (another  Metal)  ............  2  00 

11  Medals  in  a  Case  .........................  50  00 

1  Large  Medal  of  Paul  Jones  ................  4  00 

3  Other  Metal  Medals  ......................  1  00 

1  Brass  Engraving  of  the  Arms  of  the  U.  States-  10  6*0 

1  Pocket  Compass  .........................  5  00 

1  Case  of  Instruments,  Parallel  Rule,  &c.  ......  1  7  50 

1  Pocket-book  .............................  5  00 

Library. 

American  Encyclopaedia,  18  vols.  4to.  ...........  150  00 

Skombrand's  Dictionary,  1  do.  .................  7  50 

Memoir  of  a  Map  Hindostan,  1  do.  4to.  ..........  8  00 

Young's  Travels,  1  do.  ........................  4  00 

Johnson's  Dictionary,  2  do.  ....................  10  00 

Guthrie's  Geography,  2  do.  ....................  20  00 

Elements  of  Rigging,(?)  2  do.  .................  20  00 

Principles  of  Taxation,  1  do.  ..................  2  00 

Luzac's  Oration,  1  do.  ........................  1  00 

M  awe's  Gardener,  1  do.  .......................  4  00 

Jeffries's  Aerial  Voyage,  1  do.  .................  1  00 

Beacon  Hill,  1  do.  ...........................  1  00 

Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  (one  of  which 

is  a  Pamphlet),  2  do.  .......................  3  00 

Duhamel's  Husbandry,  1  do.  ...................  2  00 

Langley  on  Gardening,  1  do.  .................. 

Price's  Carpenter,  1  do.  .......................  1  00 


APPENDIX.  297 


$     cts. 

Count  de  Grasse,  1  vol. 1  00 

Miller's  Gardener's  Dictionary,  1  do. 5  00 

Gibson's  Diseases  of  Horses,  1  do. 3  00 

Runiford's  Essays 3  00 

Miller's  Tracts,  1  vol.  8vo. 2  00 

Rowley's  Works,  4  do. 12  00 

Robertson's  Charles  V.,  4  do. 16  00 

Gordon's  History  of  America,  4  do. 12  00 

Gibbon's  Roman  Empire,  6  do. 18  00 

Stanyan's  Grecian  History,  2  do. 2  00 

Adam's  Rome,  2  do. 4  00 

Anderson's  Institute,  1  do. 200 

Robertson's  America,  2  do. 4  00 

Ossian's  Poems,  1  do. 2  00 

Humphreys's  Works,  1  do. 3  00 

King  of  Prussia's  Works,  13  do. 26  00 

Gillies's  Frederick,  1  do. 1  50 

Goldsmith's  Natural  History,  8  do. 12  00 

Locke  on  Understanding,  2  do. 3  00 

Shipley's  Works,  2  do. 4  00 

Bnffon's  Natural  History  abridged,  2  do. 4  00 

Ramsay's  History,  2  do. 2  00 

The  Bee  (thirteenth  volume  missing),  18  do. 34  00 

Sully's  Memoirs,  6  do. 9  00 

Fletcher's  Appeal,  1  do. 1  00 

History  of  Spain,  2  do.  8vo. 3  00 

Jortin's  Sermons,  2  do.   2  00 

Chapman  on  Education,  1  do. 75 

Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,  3  do. 4  50 

History  of  Louisiana,  2  do. 2  00 

Warren's  Poems,  1  do. 50 

Junius's  Letters,  1  do. 10° 

City  Addresses,  1  do. 1  00 


298  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

Conquest  of  Canaan,  1  vol. 1  00 

Shakspeare's  Works,  1  do. 2  00 

Antidote  to  Deism,  2  do. 1   00 

Memoirs  of  2500,  1  do. 75 

Forest's  Voyage,  1  do.  4to. 3  00 

Don  Quixote,  4  do. 12  00 

Ferguson's  Roman  History,  3  do. 12  00 

Watson's  History  of  Philip  II.,  1  do. 4  00 

Barclay's  Apology,  1  do. 3  00 

Uniform  of  the  Forces  of  Great  Britain  in  1742,  1  do.  20  00 

Ot way's  Art  of  War,  1  do. 3  00 

Political  States  of  Europe,  8  do.  8vo. 20  00 

Winchester's  Lectures,  4  do. 6  00 

Principles  of  Hydraulics,  2  do. 2  00 

Leigh  on  Opium,  1  do.  8vo. 75 

Heath's  Memoirs,  1  do. 2  00 

American  Museum,  10  do. 15  00 

Vertot's  Rome,  2  do. 2  00 

Harte's  Gustavus,  2  do. 2  00 

Moore's  Navigation,  1  do. 2  00 

Graham  on  Education,  1  do. 2  00 

History  of  the  Mission  among  the  Indians  in  North 

America,  1  do. 2  00 

French  Constitution,  1  do. 1  50 

Winthrop's  Journal,  1  do. 1   50 

American  Magazine,  1  do.  8vo. 4  00 

Watts's  Views,  1  do.  4to. 20  00 

History  of  Marshal  Turenne,  2  do.  8vo. 2  00 

Ramsay's  Revolution  of  South  Carolina,  2  do. 2  00 

History  of  Quadrupeds,  1  do. 1  50 

Carver's  Travels,  1  do. 1  50 

Moore's  Italy,  2  do. 3  00 

Moore's  France,  2  do. 3  00 


APPENDIX.  299 


Chastellux's  Travels,  1  vol. 1  00 

Chastellux's  Voyages,  1  do.    1  00 

Volney's  Travels,  2  do. 3  00 

Volney's  Ruins,  1  do. 1  50 

Warville's  Voyage,  in  French,  3  do. 3  00 

Warville  on  the  Relation  of  France  to  the  U.  States  I  00 

Miscellanies,  1  vol.  4to. 1  00 

Fulton  on  Small  Canals  and  Iron  Bridges,  1  do.  •  •  •  •  3  00 

Liberty,  a  Poem,  1  do. 50 

Hazard's  Collection  of  State  Papers,  2  do 5  00 

Young's  Travels.  2  do. 4  00 

West's  Discourse,  1  do. 2  00 

A  Statement  of  the  Representation   of  England 

and  Wales,  1  do. 50 

Miscellanies,  2  do. 2  00 

Political  Pieces,  1  do. 1  00 

Treaties,  1  do. 50 

Annual  Register  for  1 781,  1  do.  8vo. 75 

Masonic  Constitution,  1  do.  4to. 1  00 

Smith's  Constitutions,  1  do. 50 

Preston's  Poems,  2  do. 1  00 

History  of  the  United  States,  1796,  1  do.  8vo. 50 

Parliamentary  Debates,  12  do. 6  00 

Mair's  Book-keeping,  1  do. 1  50 

Miscellanies,  1  do. 1  00 

Proceedings  of  the  East  India  Company,  1  do.  fol.  •  •  4  00 

Ladies'  Magazine,  2  do.  8vo. 3  00 

Parliamentary  Register,  7  do. 3  50 

Pryor's  Documents,  2  do. 2  00 

Remembrancer,  6  do. 3  00 

European  Magazine,  2  do. 3  00 

Columbian  do.,  5  do. 10  00 

American  do.,  1  do. 2  00 


300  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

New  York  Magazine,  1  vol. 2  00 

Christian's  do.,  1  do. 2  00 

Walker  on  Magnetism,  1  do. 50 

Monroe's  View  of  the  Executive,  1  do. 75 

Massachusetts  Magazine,  2  do. 4  00 

A   Five   Minutes'   Answer   to    Paine's    Letter   to 

General  Washington,  1  do. 1  00 

Political  Tracts,  1  do. 200 

Proceedings  on  Parliamentary  Reform,  1  do. 2  00 

Poems  on  Various  Subjects,  1  do. 50 

Plays,  &c.,  1  do. 75 

Annual  Register,  3  do. 4  50 

Botanico-Medical  Dissertation,  1  do. 25 

Oracle  of  Liberty,  1  do. 25 

Cadmus,  1  do. 1  00 

Doctrine  of  Projectiles,  1  do. 50 

Patricius  the  Utilist.  1  do.  8vo. 50 

Ahiman  Rezon,  1  do. 1  50 

Sharp  on  the  Prophecies,  1  do. 75 

Minto  on  Planets,  1  do. 50 

Sharp  on  the  English  Tongue,  1  do. 50 

Sharp  on  Limitation  of  Slavery,  1  do. 1  50 

Sharp  on  the  People's  Rights,  1  do. 1  00 

Sharp's  Remarks,  1  do. 50 

National  Defence,  1  do. 50 

Sharp's  Free  Militia,  1  do. •'  •  •  50 

Sharp  on  Congressional  Courts,  1  do. 75 

Ahiman  Rezon,  1  do. •  •  •  1  00 

Vision  of  Columbus,  1  do. 50 

Wilson's  Lectures,  1  do. 75 

Miscellanies,  1  do. 1  00 

The  Contrast,  A  Comedy,  1  do. 75 

Sharp,  An  Appendix  on  Slavery,  1  do. 50 


APPENDIX.  301 

8     cts. 

Muir's  Trial,  1  vol 75 

End  of  Time,  1  do 75 

Erskine's  View  of  the  War,  1  do 1  00 

Political  Magazine,  3  do 4  50 

The  Law  of  Nature,  1  do.  12mo 75 

Washington's  Legacy,  1  do 1  00 

Political  Tracts,  1  do.  8vo 1  00 

America,  1  do 1  00 

Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,  1  do 1  50 

Mackintosh's  Defence,  1  do 1  00 

Miscellanies,  1  do 1  00 

Mirabeau,  1  do 1  00 

Virginia  Journal,  1  do.  4 to 1  00 

Miscellanies,  1  do.  8vo 1   25 

Poems,  &c.,  1  do.  4to 1  00 

Morse's  Geography,  1  do.  8vo 2  00 

Messages,  &c.,  1  do 1  00 

History  of  Ireland,  2  do 2  00 

Harte's  Works,  1  do 1   25 

Political  Pamphlets,  1  do 1   00 

Burns's  Poems,  1  do 2  00 

Political  Tracts,  1  do 75 

Miscellanies,  1  do 1  00 

Higgins  on  Cements,  1  do 1   00 

Repository,  2  do 3  00 

Reign  of  George  III.,  1  do 1   00 

Political  Tracts,  1  do 1  25 

Tar  Water,  1  do 75 

Minot's  History,  1  do 75 

Mease  on  the  Bite  of  a  Mad  Dog,  1  do 1    75 

Political  Tracts,  1  do 1  00 

Reports,  1  do 1   50 

Revolution  of  France,  1  do 1  00 

26 


302  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

Essay  on  Property,  1  vol. 1  00 

Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Narrative,  1  do 1  00 

Lord  North's  Administration,  1  do 1    50 

Lloyd's  Rhapsody,  1  do 1   00 

Tracts,  1  do 1  00 

Inland  Navigation,  1  do 1   00 

Chesterfield's  Letters,  1  do 1   50 

Smith's  Constitutions,  1  do.  4to 1   00 

Morse's  Geography,  2  do.  8vo 4  00 

Belknap's  American  Biography,  2  do 3  00 

Belknap's  History  of  New  Hampshire,  1  do 2  00 

Do.  do.  do.,  3  do 5  00 

Minot's  History  of  Massachusetts,  1  do. .  .    2  00 

Jenkinson's  Collection  of  Treaties,  3  do G  00 

District  of  Maine,  1  do.  8vo 1   50 

Gulliver's  Travels,  2  do 1  50 

Tracts  on  Slavery,  1  do 1   00 

Priestley's  Evidences,  1  do 1  00 

Life  of  Buncle,  2  do 3  00 

Webster's  Essays,  1  do ''4  50 

Bartram's  Travels,  1  do 2  00 

Bossu's  Travels,  2  do v  .  .  3  00 

Situation  of  America,  1  do 1   00 

Jefferson's  Notes,  1  do 1   50 

Coxe's  View,  1  do 1  50 

Ossian's  Poems,  1  do 1   50 

Adams  on  Globes,  1  do 2  00 

Pike's  Arithmetic,  1  do 2  00 

Barnaby's  Sermons  and  Travels,  1  do 1  00 

Champion  on  Commerce,  1  do 1   00 

Brown's  Bible,  1  do.  fol 15  00 

Bishop  Wilson's  Bible,  3  do 60  00 

Bishop  Wilson's  Works,  1  do. . . . 15  00 


APPENDIX.  303 


$     cts. 

Laws  of  New  York,  2  vols. 12  00 

Laws  of  Virginia,  2  do. 3  00 

Middleton's  Architecture,  1  do. 3  00 

Miller's  Naval  Architecture,  1  do. 4  00 

The  Senator's  Remembrancer.  1  do. 3  00 

The  Origin  of  the  Tribes  or  Nations  in  America,  1 

do.  8vo. 75 

A  Treatise  on  the  Principles  of  Commerce  between 

Nations,  1  do. 50 

Annual  Register,  1  do. 50 

General  Washington's  Letters,  2  do. 4  00 

Insurrection,  1  do. 50 

American  Remembrancer,  3  do. 1  50 

Epistles  for  the  Ladies,  1  do. 50 

Discourses  upon  Common  Prayer,  1  do 25 

The  Trial  of  the  Seven  Bishops,  1  do.  8vo. 50 

Lebroune's  Surveyor,  1  do.  fol.   1   00 

Sharp's  Sermons,  1  do.  8vo. 50 

Muir's  Discourses,  1  do. 75 

Emblems  Divine  and  Moral,  1  do. 1  00 

Yorick's  Sermons,  2  do. ' 1  00 

DTvernois   on    Agriculture,    Colonies,    and    Com 
merce,  1  do. 75 

Pocket  Dictionary,  1  do. 25 

Prayer  Book,  1  do. 1  50 

Royal  English  Grammar,  1  do. 25 

Principles  of  Trade  compared,  1  do. 50 

Dr.  Morse's  Sermon,  1  do. 50 

Duche's  Sermon,  1775,  1  do. 50 

Sermons,  1  do. 50 

Embassy  to  China,  1  do. 1  00 

Warren's  Poems,  1  do. 1  00 

Sermons,  1  do. 25 


304  APPENDIX. 


$    cts. 

Humphrey  Clinker,  1  vol. 25 

Poems,  1  do. 50 

Swift's  Works,  1  do. 50 

History  of  a  Foundling,  (3d  vol.  wanting,)  3  do. 1  50 

Adventures  of  Telemachus,  2  do. 2  00 

Nature  Displayed,  1  do. 1  00 

Solyman  and  Almenia,  1  do. 50 

Plays,  1  do. 50 

The  High  German  Doctor,  1  do. 25 

Benezet's  Discourse,  1  do. 25 

Life  and  Death  of  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  1  do. 25 

Journal  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives,  9  do.  fol.   27  00 

Laws  of  the  United  States,  7  do. 28  00 

Revised  Laws  of  Virginia,  1  do. 10  00 

Acts  of  Virginia  Assembly,  5  do. 1  00 

Cruttwell's  Concordance,  1  do. 5  00 

Dallas's  Reports,  1  do.  8vo. 3  00 

Swift's  System,  2  do. 3  00 

Journals  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives,  3  do. G  00 

State  Papers,  1  do. 2  00 

Burn's  Justice,  4  do. 12  00 

Marten's  Law  of  Nations,  1  do. 1  50 

Views  of  the  British  Customs,  1  do. 1   00 

Debates  of  Congress,  3  do. 4  50 

Journals  of  Congress,  13  do. 40  00 

Laws  of  the  United  States,  3  do. 6  00 

Kirby's  Reports,  1  do. 2  00 

Virginia  Justice,  1  do. 1  00 

Virginia  Laws,  1  do. 1  00 

Dogge  on  Criminal  Law,  3  do. 4  50 

Laws  of  the  United  States,  2  do. 4  00 


APPENDIX.  305 


$     cts. 

Debates  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  on  the  Con 
stitution,  1  vol. 50 

Sharp  on  the  Law  of  Nature,  1  do. 25 

Sharp  on  the  Law  of  Retribution,  1  do. 25 

Sharp  on  Libels  and  Juries,  1  do.   25 

Acts  of  Congress,  1  do. 75 

Debates  of  the  Convention  of  Virginia,  1  do. 50 

The  Landlord's  Law,  1  do.  12mo.   25 

Attorney's  Pocket-book,  2  do.  8vo. 1   00 

President's  Messages,  1  do. 2  00 

Jay's  Treaty,  1  do. 50 

Debates  of  the  Convention  of  Massachusetts,  1  do.  •  •  50 

Law  against  Bankrupts,  1  do. 50 

Debates  in  the  Convention  of  Pennsylvania,  1  do.  •  •  50 

Debates  in  the  Convention  of  Virginia,  1  do. ^-  50 

Debates  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United    States  with  respect  to  their  power  on 

Treaties,  1  do. 50 

Sundry  Pamphlets  containing  Messages  from  the 

President  to  Congress,  &c. 1  00 

Orations,  1  vol.  4to. 50 

Gospel  News,  1  do.  8vo.   1  00 

Mosaical  Creation,  1  do.  8vo. 75 

Original  and  Present  State  of  Man,  1  do. 50 

Sermons,  2  do. 1  50 

Political  Sermons,  3  do. 2  25 

Miscellanies,  1  do. 75 

Ray  on  the  Wisdom  of  God  in  Creation,  1  do. 1  00 

Orations,  1  do. 75 

Medical  Tracts,  2  do. 1  50 

Masonic  Sermons,  1  do. 50 

Miscellanies,  1  do. 75 

Backus's  History,  1  do. 1  00 

26* 


306  APPENDIX. 


$     cts. 

Sick  Man  Visited,  1  vol. 75 

State  of  Man,  1  do. 75 

Churchill's  Sermon,  1  do. 75 

Account  of  the  Protestant  Church,  1  do. 75 

Exposition  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  1  do. 100 

Dodington's  Diary,  1  do. 1  00 

Daveis'  Cavalry,  1  do. 1  00 

Simms's  Military  Course,  1  do. 1  00 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  3  do. 4  50 

Library  Catalogue,  1  do. 1  50 

Transactions  of  the  Royal  Humane  Society,  1  do.  •  •  •  3  00 

Zimmermann's  Survey,  1  do. 75 

History  of  Barbary,  1  do. 75 

Anson's  Voyage  round  the  World,  1  do. 1  00 

Horseman  and  Farrier,  1  do. 1  00 

Gordon's  Geography,  1  do. 1  00 

Kentucky,  1  do. 75 

History  of  Virginia,  1  do. 1  00 

American  Revolution,  1  do.   1  00 

Cincinnati,  1  do. 1   00 

Political  Tracts,  1  do. 75 

Remarks  on   the    Encroachments    of   the    River 

Thames,  1  do. 50 

Sharp  on  Crown  Law,  1  do.  8vo. 50 

Common  Sense,  &c.,  1  do. 75 

Hardy's  Tables,  1  do. 75 

Beauties  of  Sterne,  1  do. 75 

Peregrine  Pickle,  3  do. 1  50 

M'Fingal,  1  do. 50 

Memoirs  of  the  noted  Buckhorse,  2  do. 1  00 

Odyssey,  (Pope's  translation  of  Homer,)  5  do. 3  00 

Miscellanies,  3  do. 1  50 

Fitzosborne's  Letters,  1  do. 50 


APPENDIX.  307 


8    cts. 

Voltaire's  Letters,  1  vol. 50 

Guardian,  2  do. 1  00 

Beauties  of  Swift,  1  do. 50 

The  Gleaner,  3  do. 3  00 

Miscellanies,  2  do. 1  50 

Lee's  Memoirs,  1  do. 1  00 

The  Universalist,  1  do. 1  00 

Chesterfield's  Letters,  4  do. 200 

Louis  XV.,  4  do.  3  00 

Bentham's  Panoption,  3  do. 2  00 

Reason,  &c.,  1  do. 50 

Tour  through  Great  Britain,  4  do. 3  00 

Female  Fortune-Hunter,  3  do. 1  00 

The  Supposed  Daughter,  3  do. 1  50 

Gil  Bias,  4  do. • 3  00 

Columbian  Grammar,  1  do. 50 

Frazier's  Assistant,  1  do. 50 

Review  of  Cromwell's  Life,  1  do. 75 

Seneca's  Morals,  1  do. 75 

Travels  of  Cyrus,  1  do. 75 

Miscellanies,  1  do. 75 

Charles  XII.,  1  do. 50 

Emma  Corbet,  (the  2d  vol.  wanting,)  2  do. 1  00 

Pope's  Works,  6  do.  1 2mo. 200 

Foresters,  1  do. 50 

Adams's  Defence,  1  do.  8vo. 75 

Butler's  Hudibras,  1  do. 1  00 

Spectator,  6  do. 3  00 

New  Crusoe,  1  do. 75 

Philadelphia  Gazette,  1  do.  fol. 10  00 

Pennsylvania  Packet,  2  do. 12  00 

Gazette  of  the  United  States,  10  do. 40  00 

Atlas  to  Guthrie's  Geography,  1  do. 40  00 


308  APPENDIX. 


$  cts. 

Moll's  Atlas,  1  vol. 10  00 

West  India  Atlas,  1  do. 20  00 

General  Geographer,  1  do. 30  00 

Atlas  of  North  America,  1  do. 10  00 

Manoeuvres,  1  do.  8vo. 1  00 

Military  Instructions,  1  do. 50 

Count  Saxe's  Plan  for  New-modelling  the  French 

Army,  1  do. 50 

Military  Discipline,  1  do.  4to. 2  00 

Prussian  Evolutions,  1  do. 1  50 

Code  of  Military  Standing  Resolutions,  2  do. 4  00 

Field  Engineer,  1  do.  8vo. 1  50 

Army  List,  1  do. 75 

Prussian  Evolutions,  1  do.  4to. 2  00 

Leblond's  Engineer,  2  do.  8vo. 3  00 

Mullcr  on  Fortification,  1  do. 2  00 

Essays  on  Field  Artillery,  by  Anderson,  1  do. 75 

A  System  of  Camp  Discipline,  1  do. 2  00 

Essay  on  the  Art  of  War,  1  do. 1  00 

Treatise  of  Military  Discipline,  1  do. 1  50 

List  of  Military  Officers,  British  and  Irish  in  1 777,  1  do.  50 

Vallancey  on  Fortification,  1  do. 1  50 

Mullcr  on  Artillery,  1  do. 150 

Muller  on  Fortification,  1  do. 2  00 

Militia,  1  do.  8vo. 1  00 

American  Atlas,  1  do.  fol. 4  00 

Steuben's  Regulations,  1  do.  8vo. 75 

Traite  de  Cavalerie,  1  do.  fol. 6  00 

Truxtun  on  Latitude  and  Longitude,  1  do. 1  50 

Ordinances  of  the  King,  1  do. 2  00 

Magnetic  Atlas,  1  do. 1  00 

Roads  through  England,  1  do.  8vo. 1  00 

Carey's  War  Atlas,  1  vol.  fol. 75 


APPENDIX.  309 


cts 


Caller's  Survey  of  Roads,  1  do.  8vo.  ..............  50 

Military  Institutions  for  Officers,  1  do.  .............  50 

Norfolk  Exercise,  1  do.  .........................  25 

Advice  of  Officers  of  the  British  Army,  1  do.  .......  25 

Webb's  Treatise  on  the  Appointments  of  the  Army, 

1  do.  .......................................  25 

Acts  of  the  Parliament  respecting  Militia,  1  do.  .....  25 

The  Partisan,  1  do.   ............................  50 

Anderson  on  Artillery,  (in  French,)  1  do.  .........  25 

List  of  Officers  under  Sir  William  Howe  in  Amer 

ica,  1  do.  ...................................  25 

The  Military  Guide,  1  do.  .......................  50 

The  Duties  of  Soldiers  in  General,  3  do.  ..........  1  50 

Young's  Tour,  2  do.  ............................  3  00 

Young  on  Agriculture,  (17  vols.  full  bound,  8  half 

bound,  and  1  pamphlet,)  26  do.  ................  50  00 

Anderson  on  Agriculture,  (1  vol.  full  bound,  the 

others  in  boards,)  4  do.  .......................  8  00 

Lisle's  Observations  on  Husbandry,  2  do.  ..........  3  00 

Museum  Rusticum,  6  do.  ........................  10  00 

Marshall's  Rural  Ornament,  2  do.  ................  4  00 

Barlow's  Husbandry,  2  do.  ......................  3  00 

Kennedy  on  Gardening,  2  do.  ....................  2  00 

Hale  on  Husbandry,  4  do.  .......................  6  00 

Sentimental  Magazine,  5  do.  .....................  10  00 

Price  on  the  Picturesque,  2  do.  ...................  4  00 

Agriculture,  2  do.  ..............................  2  00 

Miller's  Gardener's  Calendar,  1  do.  ...............  2  00 

Rural  Economy,  1  do.  8vo.  ......................  1  00 

Agricultural  Inquiries,  1  do.  .....................  1  00 

Maxwell's  Practical  Husbandry,  1  do.  .............  2  00 

Boswell  on  Meadows,  1  do.  ......................  1  00 


310  APPENDIX. 


$  cts. 

Gentleman  Farmer,  1  vol. 1  50 

Practical  Farmer,  1  do. 1  50 

Millwright  and  Miller's  Guide,  1  do. 2  00 

Bordley  on  Husbandry,  1  do. 2  25 

Sketches  and  Inquiries,  1  do. 2  00 

Farmer's  Complete  Guide,  1  do. 1  00 

The  Solitary,  or  Carthusian  Gardener,  1  do. 1  00 

Homer's  Iliad  by  Pope,  (first  two  vols.  wanting,)  4  do.  2  00 

Don  Quixote,  4  do. 3  00 

Federalist,  2  do. 3  00 

The  World  Displayed,  (13th  vol.  wanting,)  19  do. 

1 2mo. 9  50 

Search's  Essays,  2  do.  8vo. 2  00 

Freneau's  Poems,  1  do. 1  00 

Cattle  Doctor,  1  do. 75 

Stephens's  Directory,  1  do. 50 

New  System  of  Agriculture,  1  do. 50 

Columbus's  Discovery,  1  do. 25 

Moore's  Travels,  5  do. 4  00 

Agricultural  Society  of  New  York,  1  do.  4to. 2  00 

Transactions  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  New 

York,  1  do. 1  00 

Annals  of  Agriculture,  1  do. 2  00 

Dundonald's  Connection  between  Agriculture  and 

Chemistry,  1  do. 1  00 

Labors  in  Husbandry,  1  do. 1  00 

Account  of  different  Kind  of  Sheep,  1  do.  8vo. 50 

The  Hothouse  Gardener,  1  do. 1  50 

Historical  Memoirs  of  Frederick  II.,  3  do. 1  00 

Treatise  of  Peat  Moss,  1  do. 50 

Treatise  on  Bogs  and  Swampy  Grounds,  1  do. 75 

Complete  Farmer,  1  do.  fol. 6  00 


APPENDIX.  311 


$  cts. 
Pamphlets,  — 

Reports  of  the  National  Agricultural  Society 

of  Great  Britain,  100  Nos.  4to. 25  00 

Massachusetts  Magazine,  41  do.  8vo. 6  00 

New  York  Magazine,  38  do. 6  00 

London  Magazine,  18  do. 3  00 

Political  Magazine,  8  do. 1  00 

Universal  Asylum,  9  do. 1  50 

Universal  Magazine,  11  do. ....  i  50 

Country  Magazine,  15  do. 2  00 

Monthly  and  Critical  Reviews,  11  do. 2  00 

Gentleman's  Magazine,  8  do. 1  00 

Congressional  Register,  9  do. 1  00 

Miscellaneous  Magazine,  2  7  do. 3  00 

Tom  Paine's  Rights  of  Man,  43  do. 15  00 

Miscellaneous  Magazine,  27  do. 4  00 

Books,  — 

Hazard's  Collection  of  State  Papers,  2  vols. 

4to.    5  00 

Morse's  American  Gazetteer,  1  do.  8vo. 2  00 

Annals  of  Agriculture,  (20  and  21,)  2  do. 3  00 

On  the  American  Revolution,  1  do. 1  50 

15  Pamphlets,  Annals  of  Agriculture, 2  50 

Judge  Peters  on  Plaster  of  Paris,  1  vol. 1  50 

Belknap's  Biography,  1  do. 1  50 

American  Remembrancer,  1  do. 50 

Federalist,  2  do. 1  50 

A  Pamphlet,  The  Debate  of  Parliament  on  the  Ar 
ticles  of  Peace,  1  do. 25 

History  of  the  American  War,  in  17  pamphlets 1  50 

Miscellaneous  Pamphlets,  26  Nos. 200 

Washington,  a  Poem 2  00 

Alfieri,  Bruto  Primo,  Italian  Tragedy 1  00 


312  APPENDIX. 


$    cts. 

Fragment  of  Politics  and  Literature,  by  Mandril- 
Ion,  (in  French,)  1  vol.  8vo. 75 

Revolution  of  France  and  Geneva,  (in  French,)  2  do.  2  00 
History  of  the  Administration  of  the  Finances  of 

the  French  Republic,  1  do. 50 

History  of  the  French  Administration,  1  do. 75 

The  Social  Compact,  (in  French,)  1  do. 25 

Chastellux's  Travels  in  North  America,  (in  French,) 

2  do.  8vo.  •  •  •  • 1  50 

1  Pamphlet,  Of  the  French  Revolution  at  Geneva  •  •  25 

America  Delivered,  a  Poem,  (in  French,)  2  vols.  •  •  •  1  50 

Sinclair's  Statistics,  (in  French,)  1  do. 1  00 

The  Works  of  Monsieur  Chamousset,  (in  French,) 

2  do. 4  00 

Letters  of  American  Farmer,  (in  French,)  3  do. 4  50 

Germanicus,  (in  French,)  1  do. 25 

Triumph  of  the  New  World,  (in  French,)  2  do. 1   50 

United  States  of  America,  (in  German,)  1  do. 1   50 

Chasteilux,  Discourse  on  the  Advantage  of  the  Dis 
covery  of  America,  1  do. 1   00 

A  German  Book,  1  do. 25 

The  French  Mercury,  (in  French,)  4  do. 3  00 

Essay  on  Weights,  Measures,  &c.,  2  do. 75 

History  of  England,  2  do. 25 

Political  Journal,  (in  German,)  1  do. 50 

Letters  in  French  and  English,  1  do. 25 

History  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  1  do. 25 

History  of  Gil  Bias,  2  do. 1  00 

Telemachus,  2  do. 1  00 

Poems  of  M.  Grecourt,  2  do.   25 

Court  Register,  6  do.  12mo. 1  50 

6  Pamphlets,  Political  Journal,  (in  German,)   50 

Description  of  a  Monument,  1  vol. 50 


APPENDIX.  313 


cts. 


Beacon  Hill,  1  vol. 25 

Letters  in  the  English  and  German  Language,  1  do.-  25 

A  Family  Housekeeper,  1  do. 25 

Pamphlets  of  different  descriptions 15  00 

Maps,  Charts,  fyc. 

Chart  of  Navigation  from  the  Gulf  of  Honda  tol 
Philadelphia,  by  Hamilton  Moore, 

to 

Bay  of  Fundy,  do. 
Griffith's  Map  of  Pennsylvania  and  Sketch  of  Del 
aware  8  00 

Ho  well's  large  Map  of  Pennsylvania 10  00 

Henry's  Map  of  Virginia 8  00 

Bradley's  Map  of  the  United  States 5  00 

Holland's  Map  of  New  Hampshire 3  00 

Ellicott's  Map  of  the  West  End  of  Lake  Ontario  •  •  •     4  00 
Hutchins's  Map  of  the  Western  Part  of  Virginia, 

Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  North  Carolina  •  •  •  •      3  00 

Adlum  and  Williams's  Map  of  Pennsylvania 2  00 

Map  of  Kennebec  River,  &c. 1  00 

Andrews's  Military  Map  of  the  Seat  of  War  in  the 

Netherlands  1  00 

HowelPs  small  Map  of  Pennsylvania 2  00 

Great  Canal  between  Forth  and  Clyde 2  00 

Plan  of  the  Line  between  North  Carolina  and  Vir 
ginia 2  00 

M'Murray's  Map  of  the  United  States 3  00 

Military  Plans  of  the  American  Revolution 8  00 

Evans's  Map  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New 

York,  and  Delaware 1  00 

Plan  of  the  Mississippi  from  the  River  Iberville  to 

the  River  Yazoo 2  00 

27 


314  APPENDIX. 

$  cts. 

Map  of  India 5  00 

Chart  of  France 1  00 

Map  of  the  World 50 

Map  of  the  State  of  Connecticut 2  00 

Spanish  Maps 50 

Table  of  Commerce  and  Population  of  France 50 

Battle  of  the  Nile,  &c. 1  00 

Routes  and  Order  of  Battle  of  Generals  St.  Clair 

and  Harmer 1  00 

Truxtun  on  the  Rigging  of  a  Frigate 1  00 

View  of  the  Encampment  of  West  Point 50 

Emblematic  Prints 4  00 

Plan  of  the  Government  House  of  New  York 50 

Chase  and  Action  between  the  Constellation  and 

Insurgent,  (2  prints,) 4  00 

General  Wilkinson's  Map  of  Part  of  the  Western 

Territory 1  00 

Plan  of  Mount  Vernon  by  John  Vaughan 1  00 

Specimen  of  Penmanship 50 

5  Plans  of  the  Federal  City  and  District 5  00 

1  Large  Draught 3  00 

Plan  of  the  City  of  New  York  Panopticon 80 

Hoop's  Map  of  the  State  of  New  York 100 

Howell's  Pocket  Map  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania-  •  2  00 

A  French  Map  of  the  Carolinas 2  00 

Fry  and  Jefferson's  Map  of  Virginia 2  00 

Howell's  small  Map  of  Pennsylvania 2  00 

A  Map  of  New  England 2  00 

9  Maps  of  different  Parts  of  Virginia  and  Carolina, 

and  also  a  Number  of  loose  Maps 52  00 

Carlton's  Map  (2  sets)  of  the  Coasts  of  North 

America 8  00 

Treatise  on  Cavalry,  with  large  Cuts 50  00 


APPENDIX.  315 


$     cts. 

Walker's  View  in  Scotland 3  00 

A  large  Portfolio  with  sundry  Engravings 40  00 

Alexander's  Victories,  26  prints 100  00 

8  Reams  of  large  folio  Paper 40  00 

2  Reams  of  small  Paper 8  00 

13  Reams  of  Letter  Paper 39  00 

5  Whole  Packages  of  Sealingwax 5  00 

5  Leaden  Paper  Presses 5  00 

6  Blank  Books 18  00 

13  Small  Books 2  00 

1  Large  Globe 50  00 

1  Trunk 6  00 

Books  omitted. 

Dictionary  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  4  vols.  8vo. 20  00 

Smollet's  History  of  England,  1  do. 11  00 

Handmaid  to  the  Arts,  2  do. 200 

Bancroft  on  Permanent  Colors,  1  do. 1  00 

1  Theodolite 50  00 

****** 

Plate  belonging  to  Mount  Vernon. 
44  Ibs.  15  oz. 900  00 

Plated  Ware. 

2  Bottle  Stands 2  00 

1  Large  Waiter 8  00 

2  Waiters,  2d  size 6  00 

4  Waiters 8  00 

1  Bread  Basket 8  00 

1  Fish  Knife 2  00 

6  Salt  Stands 12  00 

4  Bottle  Sliders 4  00 


316  APPENDIX. 

$     cts. 

1  Coffee  Urn 8  00 

1  Tea  Urn 20  00 

4  Pair  of  high  Candlesticks 40  00 

3  Pair  of  Chamber  Candlesticks 9  00 

1  Set  of  Casters 20  00 

2  Cream  Dishes 6  °° 

2  Sugar  Dishes 8  °° 

2  Mustard-pots 4  °° 

7  Salts I7  00 

Wine  Strainer 1  50 

1  Cream-pot 3  °° 

1  Snuffer  Stand 1  00 

1  Muffin  Dish 3  00 

1  Tea  Urn 50  00 

2  Pair  of  high  Candlesticks- 30  00 

1  Pair  of  small  Candlesticks 3  00 

lLamp 10  00 

1  Bread  Basket 10  00 

1  Ladle 50 

1  Pair  of  large  Coolers 60  00 

2  Pair  of  small  Coolers 60  00 

1  Waiter 10  00 

****** 
Sum  total $27,158  34 

The  whole  number  of  Negroes  left  by  General  Washing 
ton,  in  his  own  right,  is  as  follows :  — 

Men 40 

Women 37 

Working  Boys 4 

Working  Girls 3 

Children 40 

Total 124 


APPENDIX.  317 

•whom  Mrs.  Washington  intending  to  liberate  at  the  end 
of  the  present  year,  can  only  be  valued  for  the  service  of 
the  working  negroes  for  one  year.* 

$     cts. 

Amount  brought  forward 27,158  34 

Books  omitted,  and  a  Theodolite 84  00 

Stock 29,21 2  00 

Cash  on  hand 254  70 

Diamond  Eagle 387  00 

Addition  to  Buckles 200  00 

$57,296  04 

In  obedience  to  the  annexed  order  of  Court,  we,  the  sub 
scribers,  being  duly  sworn,  have  viewed  and  appraised  all 
the  personal  property  of  the  late  General  George  Washing 
ton,  deceased,  which  was  presented  to  us  for  that  purpose, 
agreeably  to  the  foregoing  schedule. 

Signed  by        THOMSON  MASON, 
TOBIAS  LEAR, 
THOMAS  PETER, 
WM.  H.  FOOTE. 

NOTE. 

A  great  many  of  the  titles  of  the  books  in  the  foregoing  inventory 
are  very  imperfectly,  some  of  them  very  inaccurately  given.  Most 
of  these  errors  probably  existed  in  the  original  appraisement.  Of 
several  of  them  the  correction  was  obvious;  others  have  been  cor 
rected  conjecturally;  but  for  want  of  means  to  restore  the  true  read 
ing,  others  have  been  necessarily  left,  as  they  stand  in  the  copy  of 
the  inventory  furnished  for  this  work. 


*  No  valuation  of  this  item  is  carried  out  in  the  Inventory. 
27* 


318  APPENDIX. 


No.  III. 

[The  interest  which  attaches  to  everything  connected 
with  Mount  Vernon,  has  led  to  the  insertion  of  the  following 
copy  of  the  Will  of  Mrs.  Washington,  which,  it  is  believed, 
has  never  before  been  printed.  It  was  kindly  furnished 
from  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  Fairfax  County,  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Moore.] 

THE  WILL  OF   MARTHA  WASHINGTON   OF  MOUNT  VERNON. 

In  the  name  of  GOD,  Amen. 

I,  MARTHA  WASHINGTON,  of  Mount  Vernon,  in  the 
County  of  Fairfax,  being  of  sound  mind  and  capable  of  dis 
posing  of  my  worldly  estate,  do  make,  ordain,  and  declare 
this  to  be  my  last  Will  and  Testament,  hereby  revoking  all 
other  wills  and  testaments  by  me  heretofore  made. 

Imprimis.  —  It  is  my  desire  that  all  my  just  debts  may  be 
punctually  paid,  and  that  as  speedily  as  the  same  can  be  done. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  devise  to  my  nephew,  Bartholomew 
Dandridge,  and  his  heirs,  my  lot  in  the  town  of  Alexandria, 
situate  on  Pitt  and  Cameron  Streets,  devised  to  me  by  my 
late  husband,  George  Washington,  deceased. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  four  nieces,  Martha  W. 
Dandridge,  Mary  Dandridge,  Frances  Lucy  Dandridge,  and 
Frances  Henley,  the  debt  of  two  thousand  pounds  due  from 
Lawrence  Lewis  and  secured  by  his  bond,  to  be  equally 
divided  between  them  or  such  of  them  as  shall  be  alive  at  my 
death,  and  to  be  paid  to  them  respectively  on  the  days  of 
their  respective  marriage  or  arrival  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  whichsoever  shall  first  happen,  together  with  all  the 
interest  on  said  debt  remaining  unpaid  at  the  time  of  my 
death ;  and  in  case  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  said  princi- 


APPENDIX.  319 

pal  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds  shall  be  paid  to  me  during 
my  life,  then  it  is  my  will  that  so  much  money  be  raised  out 
of  my  estate  as  shall  be  equal  to  what  I  shall  have  received 
of  the  said  principal  debt,  and  distributed  among  my  four 
nieces  aforesaid  as  herein  has  been  bequeathed ;  and  it  is  my 
meaning  that  the  interest  accruing  after  my  death  on  the 
said  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds  shall  belong  to  my  said 
nieces,  and  be  equally  divided  between  them  or  such  of  them 
as  shall  be  alive  at  the  time  of  my  death,  and  be  paid  annu 
ally  for  their  respective  uses,  until  they  receive  their  shares 
of  the  principal. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grandson,  George  Wash 
ington  Parke  Custis,  all  the  silver  plate  of  every  kind  of 
which  I  shall  die  possessed,  together  with  the  two  large 
plated  coolers,  the  four  small  plated  coolers,  with  the  bottle 
casters,  and  a  pipe  of  wine,  if  there  be  one  in  the  house  at 
the  time  of  my  death  ;  also  the  set  of  Cincinnati  tea  and 

table  china,  the  bowl  that  has  a in  it,  the  fine  old  china 

jars  which  usually  stand  on  the  chimney-piece  in  the  new 
room  ;  also  all  the  family  pictures  of  every  sort  and  the  pic 
tures  painted  by  his  sister,  and  two  small  screens  worked  one 
by  his  sister  and  the  other  a  present  from  Miss  Kitty  Brown  ; 
also  his  choice  of  prints ;  also  the  two  girandoles  and  lus 
tres  that  stand  on  them  ;  also  the  new  bedstead  which  I 
caused  to  be  made  in  Philadelphia,  together  with  the  bed, 
mattress,  bolsters,  and  pillows,  and  the  white  dimity  curtains 
belonging  thereto;  also  two  other  beds  with  bolsters  and 
pillows,  and  the  white  dimity  window-curtains  in  the  new 
room  ;  also  the  iron  chest  and  the  desk  in  my  closet  which 
belonged  to  my  first  husband ;  also  all  my  books  of  every 
kind  except  the  large  Bible  and  prayer-book ;  also  the  set 
of  tea  china  that  was  given  me  by  Mr.  Van  Braam,  every 
piece  having  .ftt,  JKtf.  on  it. 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grand-daughter,  Martha 
Peter,  my  writing-table  and  the  seat  to  it  standing  in  my 


320  APPENDIX. 

chamber,  also  the  print  of  General  Washington  that  hangs  in 
the  passage. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grand-daughter,  Eliza 
beth  Parke  Law,  the  dressing-table  and  glass  that  stands  in 
the  chamber  called  the  yellow  room,  and  General  Washing 
ton's  picture  painted  by  Trumbull. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grand-daughter,  Eleanor 
Parke  Lewis,  the  large  looking-glass  in  the  front  parlour  and 
any  other  looking-glass  which  she  may  choose ;  also  one  of 
the  new  sideboard  tables  in  the  new  room ;  also  twelve 
chairs  with  green  bottoms  to  be  selected  by  herself;  also  the 
marble  table  in  the  garret ;  also  the  two  prints  of  the  Dead 
Soldier,  a  print  of  the  Washington  family  in  a  box  in  the 
garret,  and  the  great  chair  standing  in  my  chamber ;  also  all 
the  plated  ware  not  hereinbefore  otherwise  bequeathed ; 
also  all  the  sheets,  table-linen,  napkins,  towels,  pillow-cases 
remaining  in  the  house  at  my  death ;  also  three  beds  and 
bedsteads,  curtains,  bolsters,  and  pillows  for  each  bed  such 
as  she  shall  choose,  and  not  herein  particularly  otherwise 
bequeathed,  together  with  counterpanes  and  a  pair  of  blank 
ets  for  each  bed  ;  also  all  the  wineglasses  and  decanters  of 
every  kind,  and  all  the  blue  and  white  china  in  common  use. 

Item. — It  is  my  will  and  desire  that  all  the  wine  in  bottles 
in  the  vaults  be  equally  divided  between  my  grand-daughters 
and  grandson,  to  each  of  whom  I  bequeath  ten  guineas  to 
buy  a  ring  for  each. 

Item.  —  It  is  my  will  and  desire  that  Anna  Maria  Washing 
ton,  the  daughter  of  my  niece,  be  put  into  handsome  mourn 
ing  at  my  death,  at  the  expense  of  my  estate ;  and  I  bequeath 
to  her  ten  guineas  to  buy  a  ring. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  neighbor,  Mrs.  Eliza 
beth  Washington,  five  guineas  to  get  something  in  remem 
brance  of  me. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  David  Stuart  five 
guineas  to  buy  her  a  ring. 


APPENDIX.  321 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath  to  Benjamin  Lincoln  Lear  one 
hundred  pounds  specie,  to  be  vested  in  funded  stock  of  the 
United  States  immediately  after  my  decease,  and  to  stand  in 
his  name  as  his  property,  which  investment  my  executors  are 
to  cause  to  be  made. 

Item.  —  When  the  vestry  of  Truro  parish  shall  buy  a  glebe, 
I  devise,  will,  and  bequeath  that  my  executors  shall  pay  one 
hundred  pounds  to  them  in  aid  of  the  purchase,  provided  the 
said  purchase  be  made  in  my  lifetime  or  within  three  years 
after  my  decease. 

Item. — It  is  my  will  and  desire  that  all  the  rest  and  residue 
of  my  estate  of  whatever  kind  and  description,  not  herein 
specifically  devised  or  bequeathed,  shall  be  sold  by  the  exec 
utors  of  this  my  last  will  for  ready  money,  as  soon  after  my 
decease  as  the  same  can  be  done,  and  that  the  proceeds 
thereof  together  with  all  the  money  in  the  house  and  the 
debts  due  to  me  (the  debts  due  from  me  and  the  legacies 
herein  bequeathed  being  first  satisfied)  shall  be  invested  by 
my  executors  in  eight  per  cent,  stock  of  the  funds  of  the 
United  States,  and  shall  stand  on  the  books  in  the  name  of 
my  executors  in  their  character  of  executors  of  my  will ;  and 
it  is  my  desire  that  the  interest  thereof  shall  be  applied  to 
the  proper  education  of  Bartholomew  Henley  and  Samuel 
Henley,  the  two  youngest  sons  of  my  sister  Henley,  and  also 
to  the  education  of  John  Dandridge,  son  of  my  deceased 
nephew  John  Dandridge,  so  that  they  may  be  severally 
fitted  and  accomplished  in  some  useful  trade ;  and  to  each  of 
them  who  shall  have  lived  to  finish  his  education,  or  to  reach 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  I  give  and  bequeath  one  hun 
dred  pounds  to  set  him  up  in  his  trade. 

Ilem. — My  debts  and  legacies  being  paid,  and  the  educa 
tion  of  Bartholomew  Henley,  Samuel  Henley,  and  John  Dan 
dridge  aforesaid  being  completed,  or  they  being  all  dead 
before  the  completion  thereof,  it  is  my  will  and  desire  that 


322  APPENDIX. 

all  my  estates  and  interests  in  whatever  form  existing, 
whether  in  money,  funded  stock,  or  any  other  species  of 
property,  shall  be  equally  divided  among  all  the  persons 
hereinafter  named,  who  shall  be  living  at  the  time  that  the 
interest  of  the  funded  stock  shall  cease  to  be  applicable,  in 
pursuance  of  my  will  hereinbefore  expressed,  to  the  educa 
tion  of  my  nephews,  Bartholomew  Henley,  Samuel  Henley, 
and  John  Dandridge,  namely,  among  Anna  Maria  Washing 
ton,  daughter  of  my  niece,  and  John  Dandridge,  son  of  my 
nephew,  and  all  my  great-grandchildren  living  at  the  time 
that  the  interest  of  the  said  funded  stock  shall  cease  to  be 
applicable  to  the  education  of  the  said  B.  Henley,  S.  Hen 
ley,  and  John  Dandridge,  and  the  interest  shall  cease  to  be 
so  applied  when  all  of  them  shall  die  before  they  arrive  to 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  or  those  living  shall  have  fin 
ished  their  education  or  have  arrived  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  and  so  long  as  any  one  of  the  three  lives  who  has 
not  finished  his  education  or  arrived  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  the  division  of  the  said  residuum  is  to  be  deferred, 
and  no  longer. 

Lastly,  I  nominate  and  appoint  my  grandson,  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  my  nephews,  Julius  B.  Dandridge 
and  Bartholomew  Dandridge,  and  my  son-in-law,  Thomas 
Peter,  executors  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this 
twenty-second  day  of  September,  in  the  year  eighteen 
hundred. 

MARTHA  WASHINGTON  [seal] 

Sealed,  signed,  acknowledged  and' 


delivered  as  her  last  will  and 
testament,  in  the  presence  of  us 
the  subscribing  witnesses,  who 
have  been  requested  to  subscribe 
the  same  as  such  in  her  presence.  ^ 


ROGER  FARRELL, 
WILLIAM  SPENCE, 
LAWRENCE  LEWIS, 
MARTHA  PETER. 


APPENDIX.  323 

March  4th,  1802.* 

I  give  to  my  grandson,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
my  mulatto  man  Elish,  that  I  bought  of  Mr.  Butler  Washing 
ton,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

M.  WASHINGTON. 

At  a  Court  held  for  Fairfax  County  the  21st  day  of  June, 
1802,— 

This  last  will  and  testament  of  Martha  Washington,  de 
ceased,  was  presented  in  Court  by  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis  and  Thomas  Peter,  two  of  the  executors 
therein  named,  who  made  oath  thereto,  and  the  same  being 


Page  22,  line  16.  grandsons  should  be  great  grandsons. 

Page  24,  the  paragraph  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  should 
begin  thus,  "About  50  years  before  the  emigration  from 
England,  the  family  removed  from  Sulgrave  to  Bring- 
tou  (near  Althorpe,)  in  Northamptonshire." 

Page  23,  line  19,  for  thirty  read  a  few,  and  for  the  manor  of 
Sulgrave  read  at  Bringlon  and  Sulgrane, 

Page  27,  top  line,  for  thirteenth  read  twelfth,  and  in  the  next 
sentence,  after  the  word  was,  read  as  follows  :  "William 
do  Hertburn,  so  called  from  his  estate,  probably  the 
modern  Hartburn  on  the  Tees.  Thi-  estate  was  ex 
changed  by  him  for  that  of  Wessyngton,  and  with  it  the 
family  name,  which  afterwards  passed  into  Washington. 


322  APPENDIX. 

all  my  estates  and  interests  in  whatever  form  existing, 
whether  in  money,  funded  stock,  or  any  other  species  of 
property,  shall  be  equally  divided  among  all  the  persons 
hereinafter  named,  who  shall  be  living  at  the  time  that  the 
interest  of  the  funded  stock  shall  cease  to  be  applicable,  in 
pursuance  of  my  will  hereinbefore  expressed,  to  the  educa 
tion  of  my  nephews,  Bartholomew  Henley,  Samuel  Henley, 
and  John  Dandridge,  namely,  among  Anna  Maria  Washing 
ton,  daughter  of  my  niece,  and  John  Dandridge,  son  of  my 
nephew,  and  all  my  great-grandchildren  living  at  the  time 
that  the  interest  of  the  said  funded  stock  shall  cease  to  be 
applicable  to  the  education  of  the  said  B.  Henley,  S.  Hen- 


APPENDIX.  323 

March  4th,  1802.* 

I  give  to  my  grandson,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
my  mulatto  man  Elish,  that  I  bought  of  Mr.  Butler  Washing 
ton,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

M.  WASHINGTON. 

At  a  Court  held  for  Fairfax  County  the  21st  day  of  June, 
1802,— 

This  last  will  and  testament  of  Martha  Washington,  de 
ceased,  was  presented  in  Court  by  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis  and  Thomas  Peter,  two  of  the  executors 
therein  named,  who  made  oath  thereto,  and  the  same  being 
proved  by  the  oaths  of  Roger  Farrell,  William  Spence,  and 
Lawrence  Lewis,  three  of  the  subscribing  witnesses  thereto, 
is,  together  with  a  codicil  or  memorandum  indorsed  thereon, 
ordered  to  be  recorded,  and  the  said  executors  having  per 
formed  what  the  law  requires,  a  certificate  is  granted  them 
for  obtaining  a  probate  thereof  in  due  form. 

Teste 

WM.  MOSS,  Cl. 
A  copy, 

Teste 
THOMAS  MOORE,  D.  C. 

*  Mrs.  Washington  died  on  the  22d  of  May,  1802. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


LOAN  DEPT. 


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on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


*  -  /-i  i  r  -i  ""~  f  '•  ~  !  '  n 

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